Before and After
by bellamente
Summary: Starts where New Moon left off. My take on Eclipse disregarding the first chapter found in the New Moon Special Edition. Now complete! sequel coming out soon!
1. i REFUSE to live without him!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse (ya I no eclipse hasn't come out yet, but I'm saying that this isn't _actually_ Eclipse.) But, this story plot is mine. I made it up. So...ya. **

**Chapter 1**

_Edward squeezed me gently. "I'm here."_

_I drew in a deep breath._

_That was true. Edward was here, with his arms around me._

_I could face anything as long as that was true._

_I squared my shoulders and walked forward to meet my fate, with my destiny solidly at my side._

I couldn't believe the kind of punishment Charlie gave me. It was way to extreme. Now I was even more grounded than before, because I wasn't allowed to see Edward except for at school.

When Charlie told me that, I began to yell.

"Dad, I _refuse _to live without Edward!" I had screamed.

"Well, Bella, you're going to have to because _I _am the father here and _I _make the decisions for _you_!"

"Dad, I'm 18! I can do whatever I want!"

"Not when you're living under _my_ roof!"

"Well, maybe I'll move out!"

Charlie opened his mouth to yell something back, but then stopped and looked at me stunned. "M-m-move o-o-out?" he stammered.

"Char—dad, I don't want to move out. I told you that earlier. But, as I said before, you also have to know that I'm not leaving Edward. Not ever. And you have to know that from now on Edward will be around here a lot more often," I said softly.

"Well, Bella, I'm sorry but no, he won't be. And if that means that you...w—w—won't be...here either, then, I guess that's...that's..."

"Dad, you know that I don't want to leave you, but it's just that Edward—"

"Enough. I don't want to talk about this anymore tonight. Let's just sleep on it, and let our feelings cool. I know you don't want to move out, and neither do I. And you 'need' to be with Edward," he put air-quotes around "need", "but I don't think he's good for you. Let's just all think about it for a night and I'll talk to you in the morning."

That night, Edward and I had a long talk. He said that I should do what Charlie wanted, and that he would still come over at night. I told him that I refused to live without seeing him more often. In the end, after he persuaded me, I agreed to do what Charlie said.

The way he persuaded me was...interesting...

"Bella, I don't want you to get in a huge fight with Charlie over me," Edward said.

"But, Edward, I need to be with you. I don't want to come home from school and think that I have 5 hours until I get to see you again. It would make my days...horrible...to say the least," I said, shuddering at the thought.

"Bella..."

"No, Edward. I want you, and I want to be with you all the time."

"Bella..." he said again, and walked closer to me. He put his face close to mine. "Please," he breathed. I tried to focus on what he was saying, instead of getting hypnotized by his scent.

"But, Edward..." was all I could get out before I got dizzy from him.

"Bella, you know that I love you, but I would _very_," the way he said "very" made my heart flutter, "much appreciate it if you would listen to Charlie."

And before I could protest, his lips were on mine. I tried to kiss him back, but before I could he pulled away.

"Wha...?" was all I could say. Why did he pull away? I wondered.

"Please?" he breathed again.

I couldn't even remember what we were talking about anymore. Something about...Charlie...? Ya, that was it. And Edward wanted me to do what Charlie said...I think. No, Edward wanted me to stay away from him. But why? Oh ya, because that's what Charlie said.

"I won't stay away from you," I said, after remembering what we were talking about. I tried to kiss him again, but he didn't let me.

"No kiss for Bella until she agrees to do what Charlie says," Edward said in a tone that an adult would use when scolding a three year old.

"But...but...but!" I protested. He shook his head.

"Nope," was all he said.

I pouted for a couple seconds as I thought. Was it worth not seeing him if all I got was to kiss him? I wondered. But maybe...maybe I could do more than just kiss him tonight. Maybe tonight I could...but...no...he would never let us do anything more than kiss. But what if...

"Edward, I have made a decision," I said professionally.

"And that decision is...?" he asked.

"I will do what Charlie says on one condition," I said as I walked over to him. I slowly began to unbutton his shirt without him noticing.

"And what is that condition?" he asked, still not noticing me unbuttoning his shirt.

Finally, I got all the buttons undone and I tore his shirt off him.

"You have to do whatever I want tonight."

**A/N: don't worry, I'm not gonna make this some big Edward and Bella sex story. I just thought that what I wrote would be funny. I might have one more chapter after this that is kinda full of fluff...but then it will get serious. I'll try to get out a new chapter every 2-3 days, but I can't guarantee anything. So...ya. Please review!!**

**..::dani::..**

**_IMPORTANT_**

**I'm gonna change my user name from "ananarulz" to "D-to-the-ANI" so just wanted to tell you all that. **


	2. bella's punishment

**Hey yall! Well I hope you liked the first chapter...this one should be one of the last fluff ones and then it will get serious. I have some great ideas for this story but I appreciate suggestions too! So...if u have any ideas of how this could be better than tell me!**

**Disclaimer: as I said before, I don't own Twilight or New Moon...**

**Chapter 2**

"_I will do what Charlie says on one condition," I said as I walked over to him. I slowly began to unbutton his shirt without him noticing. _

"_And what is that condition?" he asked, still not noticing me unbuttoning his shirt._

_Finally, I got all the buttons undone and I tore his shirt off him. _

"_You have to do whatever I want tonight."_

Edward didn't say anything for a second, but then what I said seemed to register with him, and he froze.

"Bella...I don't think that's such a good idea. I could loose control, or hurt you, or—"

"Shhhh," I said as I put one finger to his lips. "Don't worry, Edward. I won't do anything that you can't handle. And I don't think your going to loose control. So, just relax and enjoy, ok?"

He looked at me, still unsure. He sat looking at me for a while, until I saw a flicker of the crooked smile I loved so much flash across his face.

"Ok," he said.

**Edward's POV**

"You have to do whatever I want tonight," Bella said to me. I was looking at her face—it was so beautiful—that I didn't fully take in what she said until I felt her take off my shirt. Then what she said registered in my mind.

"Bella...I don't think that's such a good idea. I could loose control, or hurt you, or—"

She cut me off and started to say something. I watched her intently, but then began to think of what we could do that night if I let her do whatever she wanted. No boundaries for one night. I heard her say something about "relax and enjoy," and then I zoned out and, again, began to think about what we could do together. After a while I smiled with pleasure, and then remembered that I could _actually_ do these things with her tonight. I smiled the crooked grin that I knew she loved.

"Ok," I said.

**Bella's POV**

Edward and I had the best night ever. It was started as us only kissing, but then we began to cross some boundaries.

After Edward had said "ok," I smiled at him and began to kiss him. He kissed me back, very carefully, and then my heart began to overreact. I opened my mouth slightly, and noticed that he did the same. _He's finally going to let me do what I want_ I thought happily.

We were standing by my rocking chair through all of this, but suddenly Edward picked me up and carried me over to my bed, without breaking the kiss. He carefully laid me down on my bed and continued to kiss me. After a few minutes he all of a sudden stopped kissing me, and when I looked up he was on the other side of my room, gasping for the breath that we both knew he didn't need.

"What happened?" I asked him.

He gave me a half-hearted smile and said, "I'm sorry. It's just that, your blood, and having you so close to me. It was just..." he trailed off.

I was disappointed. "So, are you saying that whole time it was my blood that was tempting you, and not _me_ at all?"

"Oh, no Bella," he said as he walked back over to me and sat down next to me. "Actually, I didn't even think about you're blood until a couple seconds before I got up."

This made my heart sing. I smiled at him, sure that I was probably glowing from how that made me feel.

I got up on my bed and kneeled. He did the same, so we were facing each other. He put his hands up and I did the same, so our hands were touching. He linked his fingers with mine, and then began to kiss me again.

This time it wasn't me who overreacted, but him. He kissed me with such passion, and such force, that I wasn't sure how he managed to not kill me.

Everything ended up with us lying with our clothes off, under my bedcovers.

No, we didn't do _that_. I knew Edward would never let us do that until I was vampire and he knew he couldn't hurt me. I smiled as I thought about that day, when I would know that I would be able to be with him forever.

I was so glad that it was a Saturday, because I would've been very tired at school after spending the whole night awake with Edward. At 8:00 I heard Charlie wake up. Edward heard Charlie wake, and told me that he coming in here to check on me. I got up from under the covers, and as I did, I saw Edward grin at me like a perverted idiot. I stuck my tongue out at him and quickly put on my pajamas. I looked on my bed for Edward, but he was gone.

"Edward...?" I whispered uncertainly. I heard him chuckle from in my closet. I smiled, glad that he had stayed.

Charlie opened my door.

"Hi Dad," I said, smiling. Then I remembered that today I was going to get my punishment. Crap.

"Hey Bella," he said as he sat down on my bed beside me. "Bella, we need to talk about your punishment."

"I know Dad," I said as I thought about my promise to Edward. I would do what Charlie said if I got to do whatever I wanted to with him. Well, he kept his end of the bargain, now it was time to keep mine.

"Bella...here's what I think would be the appropriate punishment for your disobeying me," he said in a very professional tone. "Your grounding will be extended to another 2 weeks. In that time, you are to wake up, go to school, go to work, and come home. You will not see any of your friends and _especially_ not that _boy_." He said "boy" like it was a word that deserved to be spit on.

"Alright."

"Hey, you listen to me young lady! _I'm_ the father and _I_—wait. Did you just say 'alright'?" Charlie asked, clearly expecting a different answer that involved the word "no."

"Um, yes," I said. "Is that a...bad...thing?"

"No...it's just...I thought you were going to be difficult. Like, you weren't going to do what I said or something. You have really matured Bella. I'm proud of you."

Charlie smiled at me and left my room. A minute later I faintly heard the shower turn on. But it didn't register with me.

**Edward's POV**

I walked out of Bella's closet to find a sight that I didn't think I would see.

She was crying.

"Bella...?" I asked cautiously. "Bella, what's wrong?"

Bella looked up at me and wiped away her tears.

"Edward...I don't get to see you anymore!" she said, and then broke down sobbing again.

"Bella," I said, sitting down and putting my arm around her. She put her head on my shoulder and sobbed again. "We'll get to see each other at school. And every day I'll come over at night. Don't worry."

"But that's not enough! I'll come home from school at 3:00 and have to wait until 9:30 until I get to see you again! And what about on weekends! I get up at 8:30 to see you leave, and have to wait more than 12 hours until I get to see you again!"

"Bella, don't worry. Everything will be ok," I said. Suddenly, I straightened up, listening attentively.

"What is it?" Bella asked me.

"Charlie's done in the shower and is going to come in here to make sure you're alright. I better leave so he doesn't catch me in here." I kissed her softly on the forehead and got up.

"Wait," Bella said, right before I sneaked out her window.

"Yes?"

"Can you hide in my closet again?" she asked, half-smiling because she knew I would say yes.

But I surprised her.

"Bella, I can't. You promised Charlie. And I think he's planning on searching your whole room for anything that's disobeying his rules. I have to go. I'll be back when Charlie's asleep," I said as I walked over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Bye," I said to her as I went through her window.

I faintly heard her whisper "bye" to me, before I heard her start crying again.

**Yay!! I like this chapter cuz its long! I've never written a very long chapter before!! Yay me!!!!!! Ok well please review and tell me what you think of this chapter!**

**..::dani::..**

**Again...remember that I'm gonna b changing my pen name to "D-to-the-ANI"**


	3. waiting

**Hey!! Danielle back with another chapter of Before and After!! Ya...its pretty sweet.**

**So I wanna tell u all a story cuz im bored and im having writers block so hopefully by the time im done w/my story I'll have a idea for the story.**

**So my boyfriend is all annoying cuz he thinks that I love Edward more than him. He thinks he's losing to a fictional character. Its pretty sad. But the sad part is, whenever he brings up Edward to tell me not to like him, I always have to try soooooo hard to keep a straight face so I don't look like im having a WONDERFUL daydream bout Edward.**

**Anyway.**

**So I always wondered what it would be like to have my heart like freak out like when Edward kisses Bella. So today when my boyfriend and I kissed my heart freaked out and I thought it was gonna explode.**

**It...was...AWESOME!**

**Ok well I think I might have a idea for the story now so I'm gonna go and write and not bore u with my pathetic life.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight, new moon, or cheese. (I was bored...and I actually don't have any cheese im my house right now. My mom needs to go to the store...)**

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Chapter 3

**Bella's POV**

I don't know how long it was before I got up from my bed. I could've been minutes. Or hours. All I remember was Charlie coming into my room and seeing me with tears streaming down my face.

"Whats wrong honey?" he asked me.

"Edward..." I said quietly. I'm not sure if he actually heard me, or if he just wanted to comfort me. Well, whatever he heard, he hugged me and then left. I sat crying until I decided that I would take a shower. I went over to get my bag of toiletries and looked at the clock. It said that I was noon.

I didn't remember what time it was that I had woken up, but I thought that I must've been sitting there crying for at least an hour.

I'm pathetic.

I grabbed my bag and walked into the bathroom. I turned the water on way too hot and got in. It took me a while to get used to the steaming hot water, but I didn't bother to turn the heat down. After standing in the water and trying not to think for over half an hour, I decided I should probably wash my hair.

After all the hot water was gone, I got out of the shower. The clock in the bathroom now said 1:05.

That was the longest shower I had ever taken.

**Edward's POV**

It killed me to leave Bella's house when I could hear her crying. I had to force myself to continue walking and not turn back around. When I got to my house, Carlisle called me up to his office.

_Alice told me what you did,_ He thought.

I only nodded at him.

_It was the right thing to do. Stay on Charlie's good side. That's the right thing to do._

I nodded again.

_You can go, I just wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you for that._

I nodded one more time and then left his office.

I walked into my room and sat down on my couch. I wondered what Bella would be doing right now. I decided that I had nothing better to do, so I might as well go hunt.

"Does anyone want to come hunting with me?" I asked as I walked downstairs.

"Why not. I haven't been in a while," Emmett said.

"Sure, I'll go," said Jasper.

"I would, but Rose and I are going to go shopping," said Alice as she walked out the door with Rosalie. I heard Alice say, "I call driving!" and Rosalie yell back, "Hey! Its _my_ car!!" Emmett and Jasper chuckled, and I tried to smile. It was too hard.

_Bella..._I thought.

**Bella's POV**

_Edward..._I thought. It surprised me to know that I could miss him this much after only being away from him for a few hours.

It was 5:30 and in the past 4 ½ hours I had cleaned the house, done my homework, and now I was sitting in the living room watching TV with Charlie. We were watching basketball.

I think...

"I'm going to start making dinner Dad," I said after watching for ½ an hour with him. I got up and walked over to the kitchen. What was something that I could make that would take up a lot of time and make me not be able to think about anything but the dinner?

I opened the freezer to see if there was anything in it I could make. Then I remembered all the fish Charlie had caught.

I remembered him saying something about a cookbook called "100 Recipes for Fish" I looked around for it and opened to a page with a recipe for some kind of soup with fish in it. It looked confusing.

Perfect.

At about 7:00 I called to Charlie. "Dinner's ready!" I yelled upstairs. He was in his room.

"It smells wonderful, Bells," he said as he sat down at the table. I sat down across from him and took a sip of my creation.

I almost spit it out. It was so gross.

Charlie took a big sip and swallowed. He let out a groan of satisfaction. "_That_ hits the spot. That is good. I knew you were a fabulous chef Bells, but this—this really goes above and beyond. Its delicious!"

I could tell he wasn't saying this stuff because it was gross. He actually liked it.

"Um, thanks Dad. I'm glad you like it," I said as I went over and dumped my soup down the drain.

"Aren't you going to eat your soup, Bella?" he asked.

"Um, actually, I'm not really hungry. And I have, um, to, um, check my email. I haven't checked it for a while and I figured I might as well, I probably have loads of emails from Ren—um—Mom." I had really lost my hand at lying.

Surprisingly, Charlie bought it.

"Ok Bells. Are you going to go to bed right after that?"

"Ya, probably," I lied, a lot better this time.

"Ok, well, goodnight then, Bella."

I ran upstairs to my room. I didn't know what to do, so I decided I might as well check my email after all. It turned out that I had so many emails from Renee. I hadn't checked my email since before I went to Italy, so Renee had sent me at least 30, if not 50 emails. I read them all, which took an hour and a half, and then replied in one big long email. I had to explain the whole trip-down-to-LA story because Charlie had told her about me being gone. By the time I was done, it was 9:00.

Edward could be here soon.

**Edward's POV**

It was 4:00 when I got back from hunting. I looked in a mirror when I got home and saw that my eyes, along with Emmett's and Jasper's, were a very light gold color.

I didn't know what to do with myself now. I still had at least 5 hours before I could go to Bella's house. I finally decided to play the piano.

First I played Esme's favorite song. Then I played Bella's lullaby. Then I decided that I would play a new song about how I was feeling right now. It started off fast, because I could not wait until it was 9:00 so I could go to Bella's house. Then it got slow, and transformed into Bella's lullaby again, because I was thinking about her. Then I thought about Jacob.

That filthy _dog_ had ruined Bella's life. Because of him, Bella was even more grounded than before, and now I couldn't see her as often. She had _cried_ because of what he did. The music was fast, furious, and angry. Alice came into the room where the piano was and looked at me like I was crazy.

_What are you doing?_ She thought.

I stopped playing for a second.

"Well, I was playing the piano..." I said to her.

"I know that. But, what was that...that noise!?"

"I'm playing my feelings right now. I was thinking about Jacob and how it was his fault that I don't get to see Bella as often."

Alice looked at me like I was crazy again. "Just remember, if it wasn't for Jacob, Bella probably would still be walking around like a zombie," she said, and she walked upstairs.

I thought about that for a second. She was right. I owed my life to Jacob because he kept my Bella alive and well.

I began to play again. The music was slower, and eventually it transferred to Bella's lullaby again.

I looked at the nearest clock. It said 5:37

3 hours and 23 minutes until I got to see Bella again.

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**Weeeeeeeeeee. I really like that chapter. It was long again! I wrote a long chapter!! YAY ME!! _victory dances all over the room_**

**Ok well...ahem..._clears throat_, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me.**

**Lol...that was fun to say/do.**

**Ok well the next chapter should be coming out in the next 1-4 days. Yay.**

**Till then—**

**..::dani::..**


	4. its time

**Hey. I'm so grateful to everyone who reviews and everything (even though I've only gotten 9 reviews on this but they still make me want to keep writing) so...thanks! Anyway...here's the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or New Moon (I own cheese again! We went to the store today! Yay my mom and I!!!)**

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**Chapter 4**

_I began to play again. The music was slower, and eventually it transferred to Bella's lullaby again._

_I looked at the nearest clock. It said 5:37_

_3 hours and 23 minutes until I got to see Bella again._

**Edward's POV**

5:38

5:39

5:40

5:41

5:42

It was killing me to have to sit with nothing to do. I decided to go up to my room. I walked upstairs and as I passed Alice and Jasper's room they both came out.

"Hey Edward," she said.

"Hey," I mumbled back. I felt wave of happiness pass over me. I looked over at Jasper.

_I couldn't bear to have to sense that, Edward. What you're feeling right now is...awful. I'm sorry you have to go through this, _he thought.

"The saddest part is it's only the first day. I don't know how I'm going to endure this for another two weeks. I just hope Bella doesn't feel as bad as I do right now."

"I'm sure she'll be fine when you go over to her house tonight," said Alice. Suddenly, she stopped and looked like she was seeing something. I tuned in to her thoughts.

"Well, um, that was, um, interesting..." Alice said after the vision was over. If I was human, I would've blushed.

Alice had seen Bella and I making out. And not just a little, but _really_ making out. Jasper from Alice to me, looking confused.

"What did you see Alice?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," Alice said. _Well, as I said, Edward, she'll be just fine when you go over there. Hope you have fun!_ She thought teasingly, obviously trying to make me mad.

I glared at her.

"Um, come on, Jasper. Let's go back into our room," said Alice, trying to escape my death glare.

I walked into my room and turned on some music. It was the CD that Bella told me Phil had given her, with the loud and screechy music. At least it helped me not think for a while.

I looked over at my clock.

5:48.

5:49

5:50

I tuned out the music and relaxed. It was the closest thing I could do to sleep. I heard my stereo go through at least 6 CDs. When I opened my eyes again, my clock said 9:00

It was time.

**Bella's POV**

I looked over at my clock. It now said 9:01. I walked over to my desk and grabbed my bad of toiletries and my pajamas. I walked into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and changed. The bathroom clock now said 9:03. I could faintly hear Charlie snoring in the next room. He must've been really tired since he went to bed so early. I walked into my room.

The lights were off, and I saw a figure in my rocking chair.

"EDWARD!" I screamed with joy as I turned on the light. I quickly put my hands to my mouth to stop myself from screaming again. I heard Charlie's snores go into an uneven pattern, but then it evened out again.

I ran over to the rocking chair and sat down on Edward's lap. He smiled at me and kissed my forehead.

"I missed you," he said as he began to rock back and forth.

"I bet I missed you more," I said.

"Nope. There's no way. I definitely missed you more," he said, in a joking tone.

I sighed. "No, there's no way. All I had to do was clean the house and do my homework. And cleaning the house took 4 hours, and in that time my mind could wander. I thought about you the whole time."

He smiled the crooked smile I loved so much. "Yes, but all I did all day was hunt and play the piano. I couldn't clean the house, because Esme makes an obsessive habit of doing that. And I couldn't even fall asleep so I wouldn't have to think. I think I missed you more."

I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder. "Fine you win," I said.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"So, now that we're together again, what should we do?" I asked him.

**Edward's POV**

"So, now that we're together again, what should we do?" Bella asked me.

Should I tell her about Alice's vision? Would that freak her out? But yet, what we were doing looked so...wonderful.

I decided to tell her.

"Well, actually, Alice had a vision of us doing something..." I said.

"What were we doing?" she asked me.

"Um, well, it's sort of embarrassing..." I said. Bella looked confused, but then a look of understanding crossed her face.

"Well, I think what Alice saw might come true..." she said seductively. I felt a shiver go down my spine.

"Really?" I said, pretending to be surprised. "How would you know that?"

"Well, actually, I'm a bit of a psychic myself," she joked, still in that beautiful voice. She got up from being on my lap and then sat herself back down again in a different position.

Like she was going to give me a lap dance. I laughed in my head. Alice certainly hadn't seen this coming.

But what she ended up doing was just reaching up and kissing me. She tangled her fingers in my hair as moved my hands up and down her torso. She began to take off her own shirt, but what neither of us was prepared for was what happened next.

I head Bella's door open and then someone scream. Bella quickly looked up and gasped.

_Oh crap,_ I thought.

**Bella's POV**

Edward and I were completely oblivious to the rest of the world. Our kiss deepened, and I could feel the urgency in the way his lips moved. I wanted our bodies to be together, with nothing between them. I began to take off my shirt when I heard my door open.

The person who opened it screamed.

It was Charlie.

I quickly pulled my shirt back down and got off of Edward. Then Edward stood up and walked over to my door.

"Officer Swan," he said with a nod as he began to walk out my door.

"Hold on there just ONE minute boy!" Charlie yelled to Edward's back. Edward slowly turned around.

I saw Charlie's face. It was bright purple and he looked like he was going to explode.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled at me.

I slowly got up and walked over to him.

"Yes Dad...?" I said in a quiet voice.

"WHY THE HELL IS THIS BOY AT MY HOUSE AT 9:30 AT NIGHT!" he screamed again. I looked up at him, shocked. I had never heard Charlie swear before.

"I invited him over here..." I said in a small voice.

"YOU _WHAT?!?!?!"_

"I invited him over here."

Charlie looked back to Edward, and then back to me, and then to Edward, and then me. He reached into his pocked and pulled out a gun.

"_GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOWWWWWWWWW!"_ he yelled as he took the gun and shot it at Edward.

The bullet hit his marble skin. I heard a faint "plink" noise, and then the bullet bounced off Edward and flew through the glass of my window.

Charlie looked at Edward with wide, surprised eyes, and then fainted.

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**Lol lol lol!! Omg I had so much fun writing that!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Ok wow im hyper now. Ok well please review and tell me if you liked this chapter as much as I do!!**

**Till later-**

**dani **


	5. charlie's pov

**Kk well most of you are probably like "where did Charlie get a gun!?" so im gonna write his reaction to him walking into Bella's room and seeing her and Edward. So ya.**

**Disclaimer: if I owned twilight and new moon do you _really_ think I'd be wasting my time on a fan fiction site writing random stuff. Ya...i didn't think so.**

**Chapter 5**

**Charlie's POV**

"_Ok Bells. Are you going to go to bed right after that?"_

"_Ya, probably," she said._

"_Ok, well, goodnight then, Bella," I said as Bella ran upstairs to her room._

I quickly finished the soup Bella had made for me. She's an even better chef than Renee.

Renee...I missed her. Having Bella around did help things, because she was so much like her. But...nobody can compare to the real thing.

I walked over to the TV and turned on the football game I had been watching before. I was surprised that Bella had watched TV with me; I never thought she liked sports much before. I especially didn't think she was a football fan, but I didn't mind. Having her around was good, no matter what.

At about 8:30 I decided to go to bed. I had to wake up early the next morning because I was going to go fishing with Billy down in La Push.

I fell into a not-very-deep sleep, and at about 9:00 I heard Bella yell "EDWARD!" I woke up with a start. Edward, at my house?! That's impossible; Bella would never disobey my rules.

Would she?

I had to pretend to be asleep, and then I would go and check on Bella to see why she was yelling. I pretended so snore again, and then I heard Bella whispering to someone in her room.

Edward...?

I quietly walked downstairs and grabbed my gun. I loaded it quietly and then walked upstairs. Maybe it wasn't Edward. Maybe it was someone who came into my house to hurt me, or even worse, Bella! I went up the stairs faster.

I opened Bella's door and saw a sight I never thought I would—or wanted—to see.

That _boy_ was sitting on the rocking chair in the corner of Bella's room, with Bella sitting on his lap. They were kissing, and Bella's shirt was almost off!!

I screamed.

Bella looked up at me and gasped, and then jumped off of Edward. She pulled her shirt back down. Then Edward stood up and walked past me saying, "Officer Swan," before walking out the door.

"Hold on there just ONE minute boy!" I yelled to Edward's back. He slowly turned around.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!!!!!!!!!!!" I yelled.

Bella got up and walked over to me.

"Yes Dad...?" she said, so quiet I could barely hear her.

"WHY THE HELL IS THIS BOY AT MY HOUSE AT 9:30 AT NIGHT!" I screamed again. Bella looked at me with huge eyes. I realized she had never heard me swear before. Oops.

"I invited him over here..." Bella whispered.

"YOU _WHAT?!?!?!"_

"I invited him over here."

That crossed the line. Bella always obeyed me, well, up until the motorcycles. Who cares if this was Bella's boyfriend. He sneaked into _my_ HOUSE at 9:30 at night and was making out with _my_ daughter!

I took out my gun. I saw Bella stare at me with wide eyes, and I could see the fear in Edward's eyes too.

"_GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOWWWWWWWWW!" _I yelled. I took the gun and shot it at Edward.

The bullet hit him. I knew that. But then I heard a faint "plink" noise, and saw the bullet bounced off Edward. It flew through Bella's window, causing the glass to shatter.

I looked at Edward, who didn't look like he was in pain at all. He just looked...surprised. I looked back at the shattered window, and then everything went black.

**Kk so ya. Hope that clears everything up. I still love that...Charlie shot Edward!! Hehehehehehehe. Ya I'm cool. You know it. **

**Kk till next time...**

** dani **


	6. dreams and robbers

**I'm soooooo sorry I haven't updated in a while! I had the busiest week this week because of this week long play I'm in (acting is my fave thing in the world!!) and all my homework. Ok well here's the next chapter...i hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: don't own twilight or new moon**

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**Chapter 6**

**Bella's POV**

_The bullet hit his marble skin. I heard a faint "plink" noise, and then the bullet bounced off Edward and flew through the glass of my window._

_Charlie looked at Edward with wide, surprised eyes, and then fainted. _

I was stunned. Not only because Charlie had just fainted, but because he actually shot Edward! If Edward would've been a real person, he would be dead right now!

I looked over at Charlie, in a heap on my floor, and then over to Edward. He was starring at me with wide eyes.

"I think I should call Carlisle..." he said after a minute. I nodded, still too shocked to speak. Edward picked up the phone in my room and dialed.

"Hi Carlisle...Yes...Oh, Alice saw it?...yes...ok...I know...alright," he waited a couple minutes before he said something again. "Ok, I'll try...are you sure?...yes...alright, I will. Goodbye."

"What did he say?" I asked after Edward had hung up the phone.

"I have to pick up Charlie and put him in his room, and try to make it seem like it was all a dream. I don't think it's the best idea, and I don't know if he'll believe it, but it's the only idea Carlisle had," he replied.

"So, Alice saw this happening?" I asked Edward, who nodded. "Then, why didn't she warn us?"

"Well, she didn't see it until Charlie made up his mind to shoot me, so she didn't see it very far in advance. Well, we better bring Charlie back into his room," he said as he picked Charlie up without any problem. He carried him into his room and set him down on his bed.

I sat down on my bed, thinking about what could happen if this backfired. If Charlie woke up and didn't believe that it was a dream, Edward and his family would have to leave again. It would be my fault. But this time, I would go with them. I wouldn't let Edward leave me again.

But then, Charlie would be heartbroken. And Renee, and Jake. I would have to fake my death so they wouldn't get suspicious of where I went.

This was all so difficult!

Edward came back in a while later and sat down on the bed next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

Suddenly I remembered something.

"The window!!" I said. Edward looked over at it, and his eyes widened. I guess he had forgotten, like me, about the shattered glass.

"I don't know what we're going to do about that," he said. He got up and called Carlisle again.

A little while later, Carlisle showed up at my house, along with the rest of his family. Emmett looked like he was going to burst out laughing when he came through the door, but Rosalie looked very mad that she had to come. Jasper and Emmett started to talk to Edward about how hilarious is must've been for him to be shot by Charlie.

Esme, Alice, and Carlisle looked them with disgusted looks on their faces. Then Alice, Carlisle, Edward, and I went upstairs, and Alice said "Well, that's not a very good thing, is it?" when she saw the window.

Carlisle began to pace back and forth, thinking of a plan. Finally he turned to me and said "The only thing I can think to do is have someone come into your house through the window and rob you."

I nodded, thinking that it might work.

"Alright everyone," Carlisle said as he walked back downstairs, "I need one of you, preferably Jasper or Emmett, to come in to Bella's house through the window and look like you're robbing her."

Jasper and Emmett looked at each other, both with confused looks on their faces. "I'll do it," said Jasper finally. "Charlie doesn't know me as well, and I'll be able to handle it."

"Ok Jasper," said Carlisle. He took him outside and explained to him what he had to do. Everyone else left except for Jasper, Edward, and Alice after Carlisle had finished explaining.

Alice came up to me and gave me a hug. I hugged her back and then asked her, "Will it work?"

She looked at me with happy eyes and said "I'm pretty sure it will." I hugged her again, very happy that my friends had special powers.

Alice gave Jasper a reassuring kiss on the cheek, and then ran off after her family.

Edward then hugged me. "I'm sorry," he said. "I should've been listening for him. I should've heard him walk into the room, and then I should've heard his thoughts when he thought to shoot me. It's all my fault."

I took his face in my hands. "It is _not_ all your fault, Edward," I said, and then kissed his lips. He gave me a half-hearted smile, and then ran off after Alice.

**Jasper's POV**

Edward ran off after Alice, leaving me alone with Bella.

"I'll go inside and wait, I guess," she said. I nodded at her, and she walked back inside her house.

I waited until I saw the light in her bedroom turn off, and then I put the plan into action.

I carefully climbed up the tree next to Bella's window **(I think there's a tree...but I don't remember and I don't feel like looking it up so...)** and then punched the remaining glass on her window so it would make a shattering noise. Bella looked at me, winked, and then screamed as loud as she could.

It was very loud.

I walked over to her and made a noise that seemed like I was hitting her, and she screamed again. Then I heard Charlie get up, run downstairs to get his gun (Edward had put it back) and then run back upstairs. Charlie walked into the room just as I was going out of the window and down the tree. Charlie shot at me from Bella's window, but I dodged it. I ran away from his house at a normal human running speed, and faintly heard Charlie comfort a crying Bella.

I walked into my house and was greeted by everyone crowding around me. They were all asking questions, until Carlisle shouted for everyone to be quiet.

"It worked," I said, and then everyone cheered, even Rosalie.

**Bella's POV**

The plan worked perfectly. Even more perfect than I thought it would.

After "the criminal" had "escaped", Charlie put his arm around me and comforted me. I was "sobbing", and it was strangely real sounding.

"Shhhh. It's ok, Bells. It's ok," Charlie said as he stroked my hair. "Did you see who it was?" He asked after I calmed down a little.

I shook my head. "I was so scared, I couldn't tell who it was." I said, still crying. I had somehow managed to get tears to fall down my face. I guess my acting skills had improved.

"Don't worry Bells. We'll find who did it," Charlie said. Then he got quiet and all you could hear were my deep breaths.

"You should get some sleep, Bella," Charlie said. He stood up and gave me a big hug. "I'll talk to you in the morning." Then he walked out of my room. I heard his door close, and then I laid back down on my bed and fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning expecting Charlie to be away on a fishing trip. I looked over at my clock, and it said 9:48. I got up and walked downstairs.

I saw Charlie, attempting to make pancakes.

"Morning, Bells," he said as he saw me come down the stairs.

"Dad, I thought you would be fishing with Billy," I said, trying to conceal the disappointment in my voice.

"Well, I was going to, but then I realized that I shouldn't leave you alone today. It might be a hard day for you, since you had that rough night last night," he replied as he turned his attention back to the pancakes.

"Oops," he said as one of the pancakes somehow managed to catch fire. He picked up a glass of water he had sitting next to the stove and poured it on the pancake. I heard a hiss of the fire being put out, and Charlie sighed.

He picked up the pancake and put it on a pile with the other ones. I noticed that they were all black and wetted down too.

Apparently Charlie wasn't very good at making pancakes.

"Dad, I know you want to be nice and make me a nice breakfast and everything, but maybe I should make those..." I said as I took the spatula from him and began to make the pancakes.

"Thanks Bells. I don't know what I would do without you," he said in a cheesy voice. I rolled my eyes, but he didn't see me.

"Dad, you also don't have to stay home with me. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself. And I won't be scared, don't worry," I said. "Besides, I have a lot of homework to do today, and I don't want you to be bored here while I'm working. You should go and have fun with Billy," I lied perfectly. I hoped he wouldn't notice that I did all my homework yesterday.

"Well, if you're sure, Bella..." he said, trying, without success, to conceal his happiness that he could go fishing instead of staying here all day.

"Ya, it's fine Dad, really. You go have fun," I said, as I finished making a pancake. It was perfect, and Charlie noticed.

"You sure are a good cook, Bella. First that delicious soup last night, and now these perfect pancakes. Wow," he said.

"Ya, thanks Dad..." I said, hoping he would hurry and go so I could spend more time with Edward.

"Bella, um, before you go...I want to talk to you about something," he said.

"Ok Dad, what is it?" I asked him. Just then, the phone rang.

"Oh, one second," he said as he answered the phone. I tried to think of what he wanted to talk to me about. About the robbery from last night, maybe. He probably wanted to make sure I was ok. I mean, what else would he want to talk to me about?

Then I froze. Holy crow, I had forgotten all about the reason for the robbery.

He probably wanted to ask about his "dream". About Edward and I making out last night. He would probably want to make sure I would never do that.

And then he would tell me about the really weird part of his dream, that the bullet he had shot at my boyfriend had bounced off of him and went through my window.

Crap. I was scared for what he would think about all of that. Would he believe that it was a dream?

Charlie hung up the phone. "Um, who was that?" I asked, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Oh, it was just Billy. He wanted to say that he was sorry that I couldn't go fishing, but I told him that I could go after all. I'm supposed to meet him at his house in half an hour."

I gave Charlie a fake smile and then said in a rush, so it sounded like all one word, "Oh, great, well, um...I'm hungry so I'm going to take these pancakes and go up to my room and eat and stuff so...um...bye have fun...love you and everything..."

"Wait, Bella," he said as I was walking up the stairs. "Remember, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

I slowly turned around, trying not to look suspicious.

"Um, ok, well...what is it?" I said, all in a rush again. I walked over to the kitchen table and sat down.

Charlie sat down next to me. "Well...this might sound sort of crazy...but I had this really weird dream last night..."

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**Wowo...ya...i like that word. Actually my new fave word/adjective is "sexy"...how cool is that! Not that you guys care...I'm just kinda talking to hear myself speak...(yes say what I type when typing...shut up...don't make fun of me!) ok anyway...i hope u enjoyed this chapter! Please review...it would be very helpful! And I hope to have the next chapter out Monday or Tuesday. Yay! This week isn't busy! Lol kk well bubye for now!!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**..::dani::..**


	7. the dream interpreter

**Go me! I actually got out a chapter without waiting for like a week! Yay!! Ok well this chapter is cool. Its kinda more fluff. I couldn't resist!! But I hope that the next chapters will actually be more serious and the real storyline will kinda pick up (yes I know...7 chapters in and the real story hasn't even started yet. Hehe...I'm cool)**

**Disclaimer: blah blah blah...yadee yadee yadaah. Don't own it...**

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**Chapter 7**

_Charlie sat down next to me. "Well...this might sound sort of crazy...but I had this really weird dream last night..."_

I looked up at him, trying to remain calm. "R...r...really?" I said. "What about?"

Charlie looked sort of embarrassed. "Well..." he said, "um...actually it was about you and Edward...You guys were...um...kissing...a lot..." he trailed off, too embarrassed so finish.

"We were...um...making out?" I asked.

"Um...yes," he said, blushing. I nodded for him to continue. He took a deep breath and began talking again. "Well, I walked into your room and saw you...making out...and then you told me that _you_ had invited him over to our house."

"I would never do that, Dad. Don't worry, I wouldn't ever disobey you," I lied very convincingly. "Well, if that's all, I'm going to go upstairs..." I said as I quickly got up and began to run out of the room. I really didn't want to have this conversation.

"Wait, Bella. There's more."

I slowly turned around. "Um...really?...Hmmm...interesting..." I said, trying to be calm again. It was very difficult.

"Well...I...um...shot...Edward for being in the house..." he said.

"WHAT?!" I yelled, making it seem like this was new information to me.

"I'm sorry, Bells. I would never _actually _do that," he said quickly.

Ya right. Of course he wouldn't. I almost wanted to tell him that it wasn't a dream and it was real, and that he _had_ actually shot my boyfriend. But that would ruin everything.

"But, Bella, when I shot him, nothing happened. That was the weird part. I shot the bullet at him, and I saw the bullet hit his skin, but all I heard was a noise that sounded like metal hitting metal."

"Um...maybe you should go to a dream interpreter to find out what that dream meant, Dad. Maybe it means that you...um...don't approve of my and Edward's relationship, because of the shooting him, but you also...um...realize that you could never _really_ do anything to him because you knew I would be heartbroken," I said. Wow, that was good. It was very good; maybe I should be a dream interpreter someday! (well, that is, if the whole vampire thing didn't work out...)

"Hmmm, maybe your right. Maybe it does mean something like that. Well, I just wanted to know what you thought of the dream. I'm going to do meet Billy now, so I'll be back here around 7:30 tonight," he said as he got up and kissed my forehead.

"Bye, Dad. Have fun with Billy!" I called as he walked out the door.

After he left, I breathed a sigh of relief. That was close. I was so glad that the plan had worked though. It would've been awful if he wouldn't have believed me.

I walked upstairs into my room, to find Edward sitting on my bed.

"Edward!" I yelled happily as I ran over to him. He gave me that crooked smile that I loved so much as I ran over and sat down on his lap. He chuckled.

"Well, it is a very good thing that you're glad to see me," he said. I answered him by leaning my head against his chest. He put his arms around me and began to hum my lullaby. I didn't realized how tired I was, and I fell asleep.

**Edward's POV**

I had my arms wrapped around Bella and had begun singing her lullaby when I saw her drift off to sleep. She must've not gotten very much sleep last night, with all the events of Charlie shooting me and Jasper attempting to rob her.

I began to rock back and forth with her when she began to talk in her sleep.

"Edward..." she said. There was so much happiness in her voice, and something else I had never heard. There was pleasure.

"Ohhhhhhh, Edward..." she said again and began to breathe faster and more heavily. I tried not to laugh. There were times when her dreams were so obvious. I only wished that I could sleep too, so then I could dream about her. I wondered what I would dream about...

At 11:30 she woke up with a start. "Huh?" she said.

"Good morning...again...my love," I said as I kissed her forehead.

"I fell asleep?" she asked sleepily. I nodded. "Oh..." she said. She got out of my grip and then said to me, "I need a human minute."

"Alright," I said as she grabbed her bag of toiletries and walked into the bathroom.

**Bella's POV**

Showers were so relaxing. This was a very short shower, though, because there was something I really wanted to do. I realized when I woke up (I realized this because of the dream I had) that Edward and I had never actually finished what we were doing before Charlie shot him.

After my shower I grabbed the sexy "outfit" that Alice had bought for me from Victoria's Secret the last time we went shopping. I put it on and examined myself in the mirror.

It didn't look half bad. I walked out of the bathroom and into my room. I had a towel wrapped around me and a towel around my hair.

"That was a quick shower," Edward noted when I walked back into my room. I took the towel off of my hair.

"Well, I didn't want to wait to long," I said in an alluring voice, "to put my plan into action."

I had always wanted to tease Edward like this.

I unwrapped the towel from around me and showed Edward my sexy bra and underwear set.

His face was unforgettable. He looked stunned at first, and then a look of pure joy crossed his face.

"Oh...my...god..." he breathed when he saw me. It was all I could do to not burst out laughing. I walked over to him and stood in front of him.

"We never got to finish what we started yesterday..." I said in an alluring voice again as I began to run my fingers through his hair.

I had no idea where all the confidence came from. I thought that I would be shy and embarrassed when I put on this show for Edward, but I wasn't embarrassed or anything else at all.

As my fingers ran through Edward's hair, he closed his eyes and let out a groan. I smiled, and was very happy that for once it was _me_ dazzling _him_. He stood up so he was at my level and put his hands on my hips.

He leaned down to kiss me. But, I wanted to tease him a little more. So I didn't let him.

The look on his face was almost as hilarious as the one from earlier. He was angry at first that I had moved away, but then started laughing as he realized my tactics.

"Fine, we'll do this _your_ way," he said as he sat down on my bed again.

I smiled and walked over and sat down on his lap the same way as last night, like I was going to give him a lap dance. I put my hands on his cheeks and pulled him to me. I began to kiss him, and he couldn't resist kissing me back.

**Edward's POV**

I was very happy that Alice had bought this for Bella the last time they went shopping. She looked absolutely perfect, and I couldn't wait to kiss her again. When she sat down on my lap in the same way as last night, I smirked. She began to kiss me, and I kissed her back.

My human senses began to take over for my vampire ones. I felt just like a regular 17 year old boy again, and I felt myself wanting things that normal 17 year old boys wanted.

My hands seemed to be possessed. They reached up to un-clasp Bella's bra. My brain was telling them not to. _No, no, no! If you don't stop this now, then you'll never be able to and you might end up hurting her!_ I thought. But even though my brain was telling me not to, my hands couldn't help but un-clasp her bra and take it off her.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too," she whispered back. We stopped kissing and sat on her bed, just looking at each other's faces. It seemed like it had been forever when she stood up.

"What time is it?" she asked. I looked over at her clock.

"12:30," I said. Then I heard her stomache grumble.

"It's ok! I'm not hungry," she said quickly.

"Bella..."

"No, Edward. I don't want to eat. I want to stay here with you!" she whined.

"Bella, you need to eat," I said as I picked her up and carried her to her dresser so she could grab some clothes. "Now, go put on some clothes and I'll make you some lunch."

"You'll cook for me?" she asked in amazement.

"I can do everything, right?" I said to her with a grin. She sighed, trying to look exasperated, but more looking like she was trying to not burst out laughing.

"Fine. You can cook for me," she said as she kissed me on the lips before she walked back into her bathroom to put some clothes on.

I walked downstairs into her kitchen and began to look for some food.

This was going to be an interesting lunch.

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**Yay me. I like this chapter too. Well actually...i like all the chapters...**

**Please review and tell me what I need to do better! Constructive criticism is welcomed, but reviews saying "yay keep writing I love it!" are better cuz they make me actually want to write more of the story. So please review. It's not that hard. Just the little purple button, it will only take like 10 seconds. Please...**

**Next chapter out in the next 3-5 days!**

**..::dani::..**


	8. mac 'n' cheese

**Yay me! I lied! I had a great idea for this chapter after I made/ate dinner, so I decided to write it now and not make you all wait for 3 days. Yay me!!! (yay me is on my list of favorite things to say, along with my favorite word sexy...)**

**Disclaimer: if I owned Twilight and New Moon, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fan fiction, now would I? **

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**Chapter 8**

"_Fine. You can cook for me," she said as she kissed me on the lips before she walked back into her bathroom to put some clothes on._

_I walked downstairs into her kitchen and began to look for some food._

_This was going to be an interesting lunch._

**Edward's POV**

I looked in the cupboards in Bella's kitchen for some type of lunch food. I remembered how to make some things, but they were all simple, like a turkey sandwich. I wanted to show her that I _could _use a stove, oven, or some other type of human appliance.

I found a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. That should be good. I looked at the directions on the back. I didn't seem too hard...

I put some water in a pot and set the pot over the flames of the stove. It said to wait until the water was boiling to put the noodles in.

About 7 minutes later, the water was bubbling. I opened the box and poured the entire contents of it into the pot. A package fell into the water. It said "Cheese" on the side of it.

"Darn it!" I said out loud. I fished the packet of cheese out of the boiling water and set it down next to the stove.

Apparently I set it down to close to the stove, because soon the packet caught on fire.

"Shoot!" I said as I turned on the faucet and sprayed some water on the cheese packet.

I looked over and saw the water overflowing and the noodles spilling out of the bowl. I turned a knob on the stove and set the stove from "extra high heat" heat to "medium heat." The water stopped boiling over, but I had lost some macaroni noodles in the process.

A few minutes later I turned off the stove. It said to drain the water. I looked around for a strainer. I found one, and poured the noodles and water into it.

But I forgot to put the strainer in the sink. The water spilled everywhere.

Maybe I couldn't do everything...

I quickly wiped up the water. The directions now said to add the cheese. I grabbed the cheese packet. It was semi-intact. I poured the cheese into the strainer. Then the directions said to add milk and butter.

I poured the milk into the strainer. It spilled everywhere.

I cleaned up the milk and the transferred the noodles and cheese into the original pot. Then I poured milk into that and found some butter in the fridge. I put it into the pot too.

The next direction was to mix well. I didn't know what "well" was, so I mixed it for a couple minutes.

I heard Bella laughing. I looked over to see her at the bottom of the stairs.

"How long have you been there?" I asked her.

"About 15 minutes. Long enough to see you dump the cheese into the water, catch it on fire, overflow the boiling water, spill water _and _milk, and stir Mac 'n' Cheese for 3 minutes straight," she said, trying not to laugh.

**Bella's POV**

I tried not laugh as I told Edward how long I had been downstairs. When I finished talking and burst out laughing, he scowled at me.

"I haven't had to cook for 90 years! Just try it and tell me if it tastes good," he said as he brought the food to me and sat down in Charlie's chair.

I sat down and took a bite of the Mac 'n' cheese.

Of course, it was delicious. He noticed that I liked it, and said with a triumphant grin, "How is it?"

I glared at him. "I hate you..." I said under my breath. Of course, he heard me.

He chuckled. "Well that's too bad," he said as he stood up and walked over to me. He put his hands on my shoulders and kissed my neck, "because I love you..."

I stopped breathing. "Edward...stop...I have to...ohhhhhhh..." I said, not being able to finish my sentence. He had moved from kissing my neck to my cheek, and I turned around and met his lips with mine. I tried to deepen the kiss, but he pushed me away gently.

"We've had enough of that for one day," he said to me. I pouted, pretending to be very angry at him. He laughed.

"Hurry up and eat your lunch. I want to take you somewhere," he said.

"Where?" I asked him.

I made a motion like he was zipping his lips and then locking them closed. I rolled my eyes. He was so immature sometimes. He laughed.

"Hey! What happened to your lips being sealed?" I asked him. He looked at me with a serious expression, and then pressed his lips together again. He nodded as if to say "You're right, sorry. I forgot."

This time I laughed. He joined in, and then said "Hurry and eat! We don't have all day!"

I opened my mouth to say something about him opening his mouth again, but he just pointed to my food. I quickly ate it because I wanted to know where he was taking me. I finished it in less than a minute.

"For all the time and effort it took me to make your lunch, you finished it in a minute?!" he said, trying to sound angry.

"It was just so good!" I said in a teasing voice. "Besides, you told me to hurry up and eat. Now come on, I want to see where you're taking me!"

He nodded as he picked me up. "Put me down!" I yelled as I kicked and flailed my arms. I hated it when he did this.

"Never," he said. He carried me out to his car and sat me down in the passenger seat. Then he took out a black blindfold and tied it around my eyes.

"Hey!" I yelled. I tried to untie the blindfold, but it was in a very tight knot. He laughed.

"Nope. There's no way you're going to get that off until I untie it for you. And I'll only do that when we get to the surprise place," he said.

I sat back and crossed my arms across my chest. "Fine," I said in a stubborn voice. He chuckled.

I heard the car turn on and I felt him drive away from my house. 5 minutes later, he stopped the car.

"Ok, I'm going to have to carry you," he said. He picked me up and put me on his back.

"Wait, are you going to have to ru—ahhhhhhhh!" I yelled as he began running. I could only tell because I felt the wind on my face. After about 3 minutes he stopped (the wind stopped blowing on my face).

"Where are we?" I asked him.

"I'll show you," he said as I heard him walk behind me and begin to untie the black blindfold. He took it off and dropped it to the ground.

I gasped in amazement when I saw where we were.

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**10 points to anyone who can guess where they are! Lol...its pretty obvious actually but don't feel bad if you don't know where. You're probably like me, because I wouldn't have guessed it if I was reading this instead of writing it. Lol**

**So guess what...i had mac 'n' cheese for dinner tonight. Yay me. (thats why i wrote this chapter after dinner, i imagined edward making the mac 'n' cheese...) I didn't drop the cheese in the water, or set it on fire, or pour water and milk through a strainer on the counter though. But I almost made the water and noodles overflow because wasn't paying attention and I'm just cool like that...**

**Till later...**

**.:dani:.**


	9. in the meadow

**Hello. Back with the next chapter! Weeeeeeeeee...yay me!! **

**Disclaimer: if I owned Twilight, you would all be worshiping me instead of Stephenie Meyer...**

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Chapter 9

"_Where are we?" I asked him._

"_I'll show you," he said as I heard him walk behind me and begin to untie the black blindfold. He took it off and dropped it to the ground. _

_I gasped in amazement when I saw where we were. _

"Oh my gosh, Edward! It's beautiful!" I said. The last time I went to the meadow—our meadow—was when I was almost killed by Laurent. It was amazing how different it was to see it then, and now. Before, it was beautiful, but it scared me to be there. It only made the hole bigger.

But now, being here with Edward again, it was stunning. I tried not to remember the last time I was here. _Just focus on now, Bella,_ I told myself.

Looking around, I saw a blanket in the middle of the meadow with flower petals all around it. I gasped. "Did you do all this for me?" I asked him in amazement.

"No, actually," he said.

"Then how...?" I wondered. He chuckled.

"I had Alice come and do it. I never haven't left your side all morning, remember, how could've I done this?"

I looked at him and grinned. He always had to be technical. I ran over to the blanket and sat down in the middle of it. I looked over at Edward and saw his skin sparkling in the sunlight. He was beautiful, as always, and I was amazed at my luck to have someone as perfect as him.

He walked over to me and sat down next to me on the blanket. He was quiet, and I stopped making much noise too. I could hear beautiful sounds all around the meadow. It was beautiful. Edward grabbed my hand with his, and moved closer to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed me eyes.

We sat there, perfectly still, for what seemed like eternity. I never wanted to ruin this perfect moment. After what seemed like forever, he took my head in his hands and turned it to face him. I smiled at him, and he smiled back. He leaned over and kissed my forehead, my cheek, under my ear, all over my face, except for my lips. I let out a groan as his kisses moved down my neck, and I felt him smile. Then he moved his ear and put it on my chest, listening to my heart.

I remembered the first time I came here with him, he had done the same thing. We sat like that for another immeasurable moment, when he suddenly got up.

"Wha...?" I asked him. He sniffed the air. "What is it?" I asked him. He put a finger to my lips. He mouthed "Don't make a sound" to me. I stood completely still, understanding.

Well, half understanding. What was it that he had heard? I was about to ask him, but then I remembered that I had to be still and quiet. Then I heard a loud growl come from Edward.

He scooped me up in his arms and ran back to his car faster than I had ever seen (well, felt) him run. He set me down in the passenger seat and then ran over to the driver side. He turned on the car and raced away from the meadow.

He was breathing very heavily, trying to control himself.

"Edward...what is it?" I asked him. He shook his head, and I realized that he didn't want to talk about it. Suddenly, his cell phone rang.

"Hello?...Oh, Alice...no, we just left...No, I smelled them...I was just at the meadow...Yes...Oops." He paused for a long time then. When he spoke again, it was quiet and rushed. I couldn't hear what he said, and I supposed that was the point. After a few minutes, we drove up at his house. He was at my side of the car, opening the door for me, before I could even blink. He picked me up and carried me into his house.

"Hey! Put me down, I can walk by myself!" I yelled. He ignored me, and I stopped struggling. He carried me into his room and set me down on his couch. Then walked over to his door and closed it, but not before Carlisle and Alice joined us in his room.

"Is anyone going to tell me whats going on?!" I asked. They all ignored me. They were talking in low, quick voices and I couldn't understand or hear a word they said. After a few minutes Edward left the room with Carlisle.

"Come back here! Tell me whats going on!" I yelled as I got up to follow them. But I was stopped by Alice, who carefully picked me up and brought me back to the couch.

"Alice! WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!" I yelled.

"Bella, calm down!" she said. I felt a wave of calm from Jasper wash over me. When I felt that, I got angry.

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" I yelled. "I REFUSE TO CALM DOWN UNTIL SOMEONE TELLS ME WHY EDWARD PICKED ME UP AND DROVE ME BACK HERE AND WHAT YOU GUYS WERE TALKING ABOUT AND WHY EDWARD LEFT!!!!" I screamed. Alice looked shocked.

"No one is going to tell you anything if you have an attitude like that," Alice said. I crossed my arms over my chest and sat back down on the couch with a huff.

"Fine." I said.

"Thank you," Alice said.

"Now, what happened?" I asked, trying to be calm.

"Well, it's kind of a long story..." Alice said.

"Well, you do have all of eternity. Start at the beginning, and don't leave anything out."

Alice sighed, and began to tell me.

**Edward's POV**

I was sitting peacefully with Bella in our meadow when I smelled it. It was the most awful smell I had ever smelled in my life, and it was a scent I recognized.

Wolves.

I motioned for Bella to be quiet, and listened for their thoughts.

_Filthy bloodsucker! _I heard one of them think. It wasn't a voice I recognized, so I figured it couldn't be Jacob. I kept listening.

_If she thinks she's going to escape from us this time, she's wrong. We have one more man with us now, and there is no way she will get away_.

She? Then I understood. The wolves must've smelled me, and thought it was Victoria. They must be coming here to attack her, and kill her. And I knew from experience with wolves, that when they smelled a vampire, they wasted no time figuring out who it was. They just attacked.

I had to get Bella out of here. I picked her up and ran faster than I ever had in my life back to my car. I set her in it and drove back to my house at 140 mph. Bella asked me what was going on, but I shook my head, and she understood that I couldn't talk about it right now. Then my phone rang.

"Hello?" I said as I answered it.

"I just had a vision," the voice on the line said.

"Oh, Alice," I said, but she cut me off.

"Are you still at the meadow?" she asked.

"No, we just left," I answered her.

"Did you see the wolves?" she asked me.

"No, I smelled them," I responded.

"Edward, I had a vision of them coming. Did you trespass on their land?" she asked me.

"I was just at the meadow..." I replied.

"Edward, did you take the long way to get there?" she asked me.

"Yes," I said.

"Of course you did, you wanted to confuse Bella of where you were taking her. But Edward, you forgot something. The long way involves going on their land!"

I froze. "Oops," I whispered.

"Not just oops! MAJOR oops! Edward, in my vision they were coming to the house. They burst through the front door and ran upstairs to find you! This is not a good thing, Edward! You put the entire family in danger, and even Bella! Any of us could get killed, Edward, all because of your mistake of driving on their land! How could you do something like this?!"

"I forgot, Alice! And it's ok, we'll think of something. I won't let them hurt any of us, or Bella. Does Carlisle have a plan?" I asked her.

"I'll let you talk to him," she said.

Carlisle and I talked for a minute, and then I hung up. We decided that we would have to get Emmett and Jasper, and whoever else in the family would want to help, and confront the wolves. We would try to talk everything out. Explain to them what had happened, and that we didn't mean any harm.

We would hopefully be able to talk to their leader, Sam, and remind him that people from his pack had also been on our land many times. That Jacob had broken the rules as well. We would tell them that this evened out the score, and that we shouldn't have violence. We would talk things out, and hope for the best.

And if that didn't work, we would fight.

* * *

**Ooooooooo snap. Violence is NOT the answer! (No, it's the question, and the answer is YES!)**

**Please review...its very helpful for me!**

**Next chapter out tomorrow or Sunday!**

**.:dani:.**

**p.s. I hate my username. Does anyone feel completely opposed to me changing it...again? (I swear this will be the last time!) Please tell me that if you review!**


	10. confronting the wolves

**Disclaimer: **

**Reality: haha...you don't own Twilight!**

**Me: I never said I did...in fact...for the last 9 chapters I've been saying how I don't own it...**

**Reality: so? I'm just here to make you feel like crap because you want to own it so much!**

**Me: I hate you!**

**Chapter 10**

"_Now, what happened?" I asked, trying to be calm._

"_Well, it's kind of a long story..." Alice said._

"_Well, you do have all of eternity. Start at the beginning, and don't leave anything out."_

_Alice sighed, and began to tell me. _

"So, what you're saying is, that Edward accidentally trespassed on the Quileute land and now the wolves are trying to kill him?!" I asked Alice after she had finished telling me everything.

She only nodded at me. I sighed and laid down on Edward's couch. Alice kneeled on the floor next to me.

"Everything will be ok," she said. "Right now everyone else is off looking for the werewolves, trying to talk everything out."

"THEY'RE _WHAT!?_" I yelled as I stood up. Alice hadn't told me that part, that everyone was planning on finding the wolves.

Alice looked at me with wide eyes. "Oops. I sort of wasn't supposed to tell you that..." she said.

"Alice! I can't believe this! He's going to get himself killed!" I yelled as I ran out of Edward's room and downstairs. I would not allow the Cullens to danger themselves. _I_ would talk to Jacob; I knew he would at least not try to kill me.

When I got to the bottom stair, I tripped. Luckily, Alice was right behind me and caught me.

"Where are you going?" she asked me.

"I will not allow your family to put themselves in danger!" I said. I ran outside to get in my car, when I realized that it wasn't there. Oh ya...Edward had driven me over here from the meadow.

I was about to turn around to got back inside in defeat, when I saw Alice standing in front of Rosalie's red BMW. I wondered when Edward was going to get Alice her own car, a Yellow Porsche 911 Turbo, the same one that Alice had stolen in Volterra when we went to save Edward.

"Get in..." she said half-heartedly. I walked over to her.

"I thought you weren't going to let me go," I said, confused.

She half-smiled at me. "I don't want anyone to get hurt either, and by the way things look now, you're the only one who can work things out completely," she said.

I froze. "You mean, you saw whats going to happen?" I asked her. She nodded sadly.

"What did you see?" I asked her.

She paused for a moment, considering if she should tell me what she had seen. "It was awful," she finally said with a shudder. "Everyone was fighting. I saw Rosalie and Jasper both hurt. And blood. Lots of blood."

I shivered myself. Then I remembered that there was a real problem happening here.

"Alice!" I yelled, "if you saw that happening, then why are we still here?!?! Hurry up and drive!" I got in the car with her. She turned the car on and drove at 120 mph to the rest of her family.

We arrived where Alice saw everything happening 5 minutes later. I got out of the car and she did the same.

"They should come right about there..." she said, pointing to an area in the forest. We waited. It was very hard to simply sit against a car and wait when you knew that something bad was happening.

"Alice, maybe we should go look for them..." I said 2 minutes later.

"No, I know it will happen," she said to me. "Just wait."

A minute later I heard some of the worst sounds ever. I heard growling coming from both sides, and something that sounded like whimpering. And I heard what sounded like thunder, probably from the two creatures hitting each other.

I saw the trees moving and being thrown side to side. I even heard a few of them break, and saw them fall over with a big "boom".

Then I saw a big brown wolf emerge from the forest, chasing Carlisle. I think the wolf was Paul. Carlisle saw me and Alice standing next to Rosalie's car.

"Get out of here NOW!" he roared at us. Alice was looking at the battle with wide eyes.

"Come on, Bella. We need to get out of here," she said as she walked back to the car. But I didn't hear her. I was running as fast as I could, right for the battle. I knew it was stupid, I knew that I couldn't do much, but I also knew that I was the only one that could stop it because I was the only one Jacob would actually listen to.

I needed to get in there and fix this.

"Bella, NOOOOOOOO!" Alice yelled. She was about to run after me, when she saw Jasper emerge out of the forest, and a wolf (Embry) come out after him 15 seconds later. There was a huge gash on his arm, and he fell down in the grass in pain. He was trying to not scream and it killed me to have to watch him in so much pain.

"Jasper!" Alice yelled as she ran over to him, forgetting all about me.

I continued running. When I finally got into the forest, I froze. I wasn't prepared for what I saw.

I saw Rosalie lying on the ground, out of the way of the battle. She was lying on her back, breathing heavily, and I saw a big cut on her torso. I was confused because there was no blood, but then I remembered that vampires couldn't bleed.

I could see one the of the Quileute boys, Jared, I think, lying on the ground, only wearing shorts. He, unlike Rose, was bleeding, with a huge gash on his leg. I remembered how fast wolves healed, and realized that it must've been a huge cut if it hadn't even begun to heal yet.

There were trees down everywhere, and lots of plants pulled up.

There was also a lot of blood everywhere. I thought that the Quileutes must be losing because of how much blood there was, but then I realized that Jared was the only wolf down and out of the battle.

I had to find Jacob and stop this madness.

I ran deeper into the forest. I ran past Emmett locked in battle with another wolf, both with their teeth bared, prepared to lunge at the other in any second.

I saw Esme chasing after one of the wolves, and I realized that it was a wolf I didn't recognize. It must've been Quil, which was probably why Esme was winning; Quil was a new and inexperienced wolf. It made me sad to realize that he was now a monster too, and I realized that it was probably for the better, at least now he had his friends back.

I ran farther and farther. That's when I saw it.

Two wolves. The only two left. Jacob and Sam.

One vampire. My Edward.

Sam and Jacob were surrounding Edward. They were moving closer and closer to him, closing up their circle.

But what surprised me the most was Edward. He stood there, with his eyes closed, not moving.

Jacob and Sam's circle was getting smaller. It was about to close in on Edward, and then they would tear him to shreds.

Without thinking about the danger I was putting myself in, I ran towards them. I ran right at Edward, Jacob, and Sam. I knew that Edward would've been attacking them by now if he planned on fighting back at all.

As I got closer to them, I saw Jacob turn around as he heard me. I continued running, even though I was stunned by what my former best friend looked like. His eyes were wild with hatred and the want to kill.

I approached the circle and ran into the middle of it. Edward opened his eyes and looked at me with anger and confusion in his eyes.

"Bella...?" he whispered. A second later it registered with him what I was doing. "Get out of here!" he roared.

I turned away from Edward to face Jacob.

"STOP!" I yelled as loud as I could.

But Jacob didn't notice I said anything, or if he did, he didn't listen.

That's when I remembered. Jacob had no control over himself.

I realized how stupid what I had just done was. I realized how much danger I had put myself in. I remembered Emily, and what had happened to her because she had gotten in the middle of a wolf fight.

_The right side of her face was scarred from hairline to chin by three thick, red lines, livid in color though they were long healed. One line pulled own the corner of her dark, almond-shaped eye, another twisted the right side of her mouth into a permanent grimace._

Emily was permanently scarred because she had been around Sam when he had lost control.

Just like I was with Jake right now.

I looked up and saw Jake with his teeth barred. He swung at me and Edward with a big clawed paw.

I felt a searing pain in my right arm, shoulder, and the right side of my face. I screamed and crumpled in pain.

It was the worst pain imaginable. It felt like I was being torn in two. Like a hundred thousand needles were piercing into my arm and face. Like someone had taken a saw and tried to cut off my arm, and then taken a knife and pushed it into my cheek.

I let out another scream. If this was pain, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be changed into a vampire.

I felt ice cold arms pick me up and start running away from the wolves. I heard them chasing after us, but I knew that Edward was outrunning them.

I felt the blood coming out of all my gashes. I opened my eyes a little to look at Edward.

He looked like he was in more pain than I was. I could tell he was holding his breath. His eyes were coal black, and looked like Jake's had. But instead of being wild with hate, his eyes were wild with thirst.

"Edwa..." I said. He looked down at me, and it looked like the monster that wanted my blood that he had tried to keep inside him for so long was about to emerge.

"Bella..." he said. I saw him sniff the air. The monster inside him was coming closer to being let out of its cage.

Then an evil looking grin crossed his face. He opened his mouth and took a deep breath, smelling my blood. I saw him look at my arm, shoulder, and face, where the blood was pulsing out of my body.

He leaned down to my shoulder. He opened his mouth and I saw the venom in his mouth. He was about to suck the blood off of my shoulder and then bite me.

With my last bit of strength I whispered his name again.

"Edward..."

He looked up from my arm to my face. His face softened when he saw the tears in my eyes. Then I saw the anger he had in himself when he realized that he had almost bitten me.

That was the last thing I saw, and then everything went black.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

**I was even nervous when writing that. Its like Stephenie...she had to feel the emotions of her characters to write it. That's what it was like for me.**

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH AGAIN.**

**Kk next chapter out later!**

**.:dani:.**

**Fyi: new penname is going to be "bellamente" which means "beautifully" in Spanish. Ya. **


	11. the aftermath

**Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: --_skipping down the street singing—_I don't own twilight. I don't own twilight. I don't own...TWILIGHT!**

**Reality: haha. You don't own Twilight.**

**Me: ­_--ignores the stupid voice and continues skipping—_**

**Reality: Shoot. I'm going to be out of a job because I can't make her feel like crap!**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_He leaned down to my shoulder. He opened his mouth and I saw the venom in his mouth. He was about to suck the blood off of my shoulder and then bite me. _

_With my last bit of strength I whispered his name again. _

"_Edward..."_

_He looked up from my arm to my face. His face softened when he saw the tears in my eyes. Then I saw the anger he had in himself when he realized that he had almost bitten me. _

_That was the last thing I saw, and then everything went black._

I heard whispering.

Someone was saying something about the giant wolves in the forest.

I heard another person crying.

I opened my eyes. I could see white walls surrounding me. Then I heard a strange noise.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

I looked for the source of the noise. I saw it was one of the machines that measured your heart beat at hospitals.

Great. I was in the hospital again.

I looked around me again. I saw Carlisle talking to Charlie in the doorway to the room I was in. I saw Edward in the corner, sitting on a chair, with his head in his hands.

"Bella..." someone said to me. I turned around to see who it was.

It was Jacob.

"Jake...?" I said. I sounded like I was on drugs, which, I realized, I probably was. Painkillers.

"Hey Bells..." he said. He walked over to me and sat on the side of my bed. I looked over too see Edward look up. He made a move like he was going to stand up and make Jacob leave, but I narrowed my eyes at him. He nodded like he understood, and sat back down.

"I'm so sorry, Bells," Jacob said. I looked back at him.

" 'S kay Jake. You couldn't do anything to help it. 'S not your fault," I said, slurring all my words. I sounded like crap.

"Bella, I just...I feel so awful. I couldn't control myself, I hardly even remember hurting you at all. I wish you never had to see me like that, when the monster inside me gets out and I destroy anything in my path," he said. There were tears forming in his eyes.

"Now I know what Sam felt like. But at least he and Emily were in love, instead of like us. You hate me, we aren't even friends..." he said, and put his head in his hands and the tears overflowed from his eyes.

"Jake...I don't hate you," I slurred. "And you will always be my best friend, no matter if you hate my other friends or not.

Jake looked up at me. "I'm so sorry," he said as he leaned down and hugged me. I hugged him too.

That's when I saw my arm.

I gasped.

There was a thick red scar running all the way up it. I ran my fingers over it; it was raised up a centimeter or so. Then I moved back the sleeve of my hospital gown and looked at my shoulder. It looked the same, but with multiple, shorter scars.

I didn't no he had done this much damage to me.

"Jake..." I whispered. He had his head in his hands again, and when he looked up at me I could see his entire face was wet with tears.

"Can I see a mirror?" I asked. I'm sure he could barely hear me, I whispered it so quietly. But he got a mirror that was beside my bed and handed it to me. My hand trembled as I reached for it and moved it up so I could see my face.

When I saw myself, I gasped, and began crying. Edward rushed over to me then, and held me in his arms.

"Shhhh. Shhhhhhh, Bella, it's ok," he whispered as he stroked my hair. I sobbed into his chest.

I had a thick red scar running from my eye to the corner of my mouth. There was another that went from my hairline to the bottom of my cheek, and a third that ran from the corner of my nose, past the corner of my mouth, and down to my chin.

I looked just like Emily, only worse, because my scars didn't look as healed as hers did.

I sobbed into Edward's arms for what seemed like forever, with Jake standing right next to me with his hand on my undamaged shoulder. After a very long time, Carlisle and Charlie came into the room. Charlie's eyes were red and puffy, and I could tell that he had been crying too.

"Hey Bella..." he whispered as he walked over to me. Edward stood up and walked back over to the chair, and Charlie took his place, holding me in his arms.

"Everything will be ok, hun. I just talked to Dr. Cullen, and he said that the scars will heal," he whispered.

"Dad, they won't ever completely heal! Have you seen Emily! Her scars are still there, and she got attacked over 2 years ago by the wol—" I stopped suddenly. I almost told Charlie that Emily had been attacked by werewolves, just like I had. I knew that if I said that, Charlie would ship me of to a mental institute.

"Whats that, hun?" Charlie asked me.

"Nothing," I said, as I leaned my head on his shoulder again. Jake stood next to me, rubbing my back.

"Honey, I'm just very surprised with you. I told you not to go off into the woods alone because of the giant wolves, but yet, you did so anyway," Charlie said with disappointment in his voice.

I was confused. I didn't go off into the woods alone. Then I realized that must've been the story Edward told Charlie, that I had ran off into the woods by myself and had been attacked by the giant wolves.

Well, half of the story was right...

"I'm sorry, Dad," I said. "I didn't mean to disobey you."

Charlie looked up at me. "It's alright, Bella. I don't want you to feel bad about it, you must be in a lot of pain and I don't want you to feel even more."

"Thanks Dad," I whispered, and managed a smile. "Ow," I said as I did.

"Whats wrong?" Charlie asked, with worry in his voice.

"It hurts to smile. I guess I won't be able to show much emotion for a while, until the wounds heal more," I said. Charlie nodded at me.

"I'm going to go, Bella. Your mom is probably waiting my call. I told her that I would call her when you woke up." With that, he kissed the top of my head and walked out of the room.

"I'm going to go too, Bella," Jake whispered after Charlie was out of earshot. I turned around to face him. "I told Sam and the rest of the pack I'd tell them how everything turned out." He stood up and began to walk out of the room.

"Jake," I said right before he left. "Jake, am I going to see you again?" I asked him.

He didn't answer. He only looked down at his feet, and I could see pain in his eyes.

"You take care of yourself, Bella," he said, and he turned around and left.

I had lost my best friend again.

Then Edward stood up. He walked over to me and I moved over on the bed, so there was enough room for him to lay next to me.

"Bella..." he said as he tucked some hair behind my ears. "Why did you do that?" he asked me.

"Alice told me that she had a vision of the battle. The way she described it was awful. I thought that Jake would actually listen to me, but when I got to the middle of the circle with you, I remembered that he didn't have much control over himself," I said, feeling very stupid.

"Oh...Bella..." Edward said. I sat up, and he did the same. He took me in his arms, and began to rock back and forth.

"I thought I had lost you," he said. "I thought I had lost you, and I almost lost myself. I'm so sorry for what happened when I was running back with you. I almost hurt you, and for that, I'm eternally sorry. I don't know what I would've done if I would've hurt you. It would've—"

"Shhhh," I said as I put a finger to his lips. I didn't want him to talk about how sorry he was, it would make me feel even worse about the whole situation. "It's ok, Edward. What I did was stupid, what you did was stupid. Now we're even."

He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but I put my finger to his lips again. He took my hand in his and kissed the back of my hand. I grinned.

"Ow!" I said. Edward chuckled.

"You forgot to show no emotion," he said with a grin. I tried to not laugh, but I did.

"Ow, ow, ow, OW!" I said. I slapped his arm. "Don't make me laugh!" I said.

"I'll try," he said. I managed to suppress a grin this time.

"Edward, what day is it?" I asked him.

"It's Tuesday, you were out for 2 days," he said. I was shocked. It seemed like it had only been a few hours.

"Edward, theres something else that confused me," I said. "When I saw you being surrounded by Jake and Sam, you weren't moving. You were just standing there, with your eyes closed. You weren't fighting back or anything. Why?"

Edward looked at me with sadness in his eyes. I didn't know why, until he said, "Well, I knew that if I tried to fight the wolves, I would be hurt. There were 2 of them against me, it wasn't a fair fight."

"Edward, you still should've tried! They would've killed you if I wouldn't have distracted them," I said, very angry that he had just given up like that.

"Calm down, Bella. That wasn't the only reason I didn't fight back."

"Then...what...?"

"Bella, I was going to fight back, but then I remembered something we talked about after we came back from Italy."

"What was it?" I asked.

"I remembered what you said about me killing your friend. And how I promised you that I wouldn't hurt him."

I looked at him with wide eyes. Then I remembered the conversation we had.

"_Edward Cullen," I whispered. "Where you about to say _'killed _him_'_? Were you?"_

_He looked away from me, staring into the rain. In front of us, the red light I hadn't noticed turned green and he started forward again, driving very slowly. Not his usual way of driving._

"_I would try...very hard...not to do that," Edward finally said._

"Edward..." I whispered, "are you saying that you didn't fight back because you didn't want me to be upset because you killed Jacob?"

He didn't look up at me, he continued to look at our hands, intertwined together.

"Edward...?" I whispered again.

He slowly looked up at me. Then, although it was barely visible, I saw him nod.

I gasped. That was the most crazy, insane, stupid, idiotic...sweetest...thing he had ever done.

I threw my arms around him. He looked surprised.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"That was the most stupid, crazy, idiotic thing you've ever done, Edward Cullen," I said to him. He sighed, clearly very disappointed in himself.

"And I love you so much for doing that," I finished.

He pushed me back so he could look at my face.

"Isabella Marie Swan, I love you so much for saying that," he said. Then he leaned in and kissed me.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, I love you too, and I don't know what I would've done if anything would've happened to you," I said, and kissed him again.

And then we sat there, together in my hospital bed. Me constantly gliding my fingers over the scars on my face (having them there was going to take a lot of getting used to) and Edward rubbing his ice cold fingers along the scar on my arm.

It reminded me a lot of when we were in Volterra, waiting to go back outside and return to the US.

It was like heaven, right in the middle of the chaos and suffering of hell.

* * *

**Yay. I like this chapter. Now I know that seems like a good ending for a story, but don't worry, it isn't! I had a great idea for a fanfic and that's why I stared writing this, but that idea hasn't even been put into the story yet! It will be a lot longer, don't worry!**

**New user name (im gonna change it tomorrow): bellamente**

**till then--**

**dani**


	12. vinegar and albino

**Disclaimer:**

**Edward: hey Danielle.**

**Me: omg! Where did you come from?? I love you! --_runs up and starts kissing Edward--_**

**Edward: --_takes off mask--_haha! I'm actually reality...here to remind you that you _still_ don't own Twilight! Haha!**

**Me: ewwwwwww! --_wipes mouth­--_ I can't believe I just kissed you...you have cooties!**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_And then we sat there, together in my hospital bed. Me constantly gliding my fingers over the scars on my face (having them there was going to take a lot of getting used to) and Edward rubbing his ice cold fingers along the scar on my arm. _

_It reminded me a lot of when we were in Volterra, waiting to go back outside and return to the US._

_It was like heaven, right in the middle of the chaos and suffering of hell. _

After Edward and I had sat in the hospital room for an hour, Carlisle came in.

"Edward, you need to get up, I need to check Bella to make sure everything is healing," he said when he saw Edward and I sitting together.

Edward nodded and stood up, then sat back down in the chair in the corner.

"Is it really bad, Carlisle?" I asked, my words still slurred.

"It could be a lot worse. You are very lucky; none of the wounds were infected."

That made me happy—the first good news since I had woken up.

"Why did you do it, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"Do what?" I asked, confused.

"Why did you come to the battle? Alice told me that she had a vision and told you about it. But why did you run into the middle of the battle? It wasn't a very smart thing to do."

I sighed. "I thought that Jacob would listen to me. I thought I was the only person that he wouldn't kill, and that I might be able to reason with him. It wasn't until after I yelled at him that I remembered that he couldn't be reasoned with when he was in his wolf form." I felt stupid, because I knew that I had put myself in a lot of danger.

Carlisle nodded. "Well, at least you were trying to help, and not running into the battle for an even dumber reason than that," he said. "Although, that reason was pretty dumb in itself." My cheeks flushed a light shade of red.

"Anyway..." Carlisle said, "I think you should be okay to go home in a day or so. The only thing really wrong with you was the gashes on your arms and face. As soon as they heal a bit more, you should be free to go."

More good news. Yay.

"Carlisle, she was mauled by a wolf. Don't you think she might need to be in the hospital for more than few days?" Edward asked as he stood up and walked over to my side. That's Edward. Always overprotective.

"I'm pretty sure she will be fine, Edward," Carlisle replied.

"But—"

"Edward, I'm the doctor. I know whats best for my patients." Edward saw defeat and nodded.

"Well, Carlisle," I said, "What do I need to do to get better?"

"You just need to get a lot of bed rest and not go chasing after anymore werewolves," he said with a grin.

"I'll try," I said with a smile. "Ow, ow, ow, OW!"

Edward and Carlisle chuckled.

"Stop it! It isn't funny! How would you like to not be able to laugh or smile or anything?!" I yelled. They were so annoying.

Edward and Carlisle just continued laughing. I crossed my arms across my chest and sat back in the bed. But as I did, I hit my head on the back of the bed.

"Ow!" I said again. Edward and Carlisle tried not to laugh. It worked until I gave them a death glare. Then they burst out laughing. At that point, I laid my head on the pillow and covered my face with the blanket.

I heard Carlisle leave the room and then felt Edward sit down on the bed. He pulled back the blanket.

"If you hide you face, then I can't admire your beauty," he said in an alluring voice.

I hated our easily he dazzled me.

"Edward," I said as I remembered the others in the battle, "how is everyone else doing?"

Edward's happy grin turned into a frown. "Not so good," he said quietly. "Jasper and Rose were badly injured, and Emmett got a few minor wounds as well. Carlisle fixed them up, but they have scars now, too."

"What about the Quileutes?" I asked.

"Esme managed to hurt one of their wolves, I think he was new," he said.

"Quil..." I whispered. Edward nodded.

"And I believe Emmett wounded one pretty badly as well..."

I remembered seeing Jared lying on the ground, blood spilling out of a gash on his leg. I winced.

"Did Alice join the fight?" I asked.

"She chased off the wolf that was fighting Jasper, but I don't think she seriously hurt any of them," said Edward. I was glad of that.

"So, are the wolves going to be ok?" I asked in concern.

Edward narrowed his eyes at me. "Whose side are you on?" he asked. I glared at him.

"I just want to make sure they're ok. They're my friends too. Or, they were..." I said as I remembered my and Jake's conversation.

Edward sighed. "I don't like you spending time with them, Bella. It's not safe."

"Don't worry about that. Jake probably won't ever talk to me again anyway..." I said sadly.

Edward put his arms around me. "Maybe that's for the better," he said softly as he stroked my hair.

I sighed. There would never be any way to convince Edward or Jake that the other wasn't a bad person. They would always hate each other because of what they are. I wished they could see past that.

"You need to rest, Bella," Edward said.

"No, don't go!" I said. He chuckled.

"Don't worry. I'll be here when you wake up again." He leaned down to give me a quick peck on the lips. But I didn't let him go. I kissed him very passionately, and he kissed me back.

"Wow..." he said after we broke apart.

"Uh huh..." I replied, breathing heavily.

"Well..._now _you need to get some rest," he said. He paged the nurse to give me some antibiotics.

"No! No medication!" I whined as the nurse walked into the room. But she gave them to me anyway.

I began to feel funny a second after she gave them to me.

"I'll be here when you wake up," Edward said.

To my surprise, I giggled.

"Okie dokie!" I replied with another giggle. Edward smiled the crooked smile I loved.

"You're very preeeeeeeeeety," I said. Then I giggled again.

Edward looked at the nurse. "Isn't she supposed to fall asleep?" he asked as he looked back at me. I waved my fingers at him, and grinned.

"Hellooooooooo," I said.

He waved back with a look of confusion on his face.

The nurse looked at the medicine she had just given me.

"Oops..." she said.

"What?" Edward asked anxiously.

"Calm down, Eddie," I said, giggling again. Eddie...hehehe. "I'm juuuuuuuuuuust fineeeeeeeeeee."

Edward looked at me in shock. "Eddie...?" he asked in surprise. I nodded at him and let out a huge sigh.

" 'Edward' is a boring name," I said. "Eddie is cute, just like you!" I touched the tip of his nose when I said you.

Edward looked back at the nurse with a helpless look on his face.

"What is wrong with her?" he asked.

"I think I gave her the wrong type of medication..." she said.

"What?!?!?" Edward yelled. "What did you give her?"

"Morphine...a lot of morphine..." she replied. She looked very embarrassed. "It's my first day on the job," she admitted. "I'm so sorry."

"You need to get Carli—Dr. Cullen," said Edward, trying not to explode at the nurse. She nodded and left the room.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeello again, Eddie," I said. Why were there two of him...?

"Bella, do you feel ok?" he asked me.

"Actually...I fell like I'm spinning around and around and around and around and around and around and around and around—"

"Anything else?" Edward asked.

"Ummmmmm...I think I kinda want some cake. Or cupcakes. Or pie. Or dounuts. Or—"

"Anything not sugary?"

"Ummmmmm...some hot water would be nice, preeeeeeeeeety please with sugar on top," I said, batting my eyelashes at him.

"Ok..." he said. He stood up and left the room. I looked around me. I still heard that noise.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

"Beep. Beep. Beep," I said with it. This game was fun! "Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep."

Edward came back into the room a few minutes later. He handed me a mug with hot water in it. I took a big drink of it. It burned my throat...it was awesome!

"Yummy!" I said. "But it's missing something. Hmmmmmmm..." I thought for a while. Then it hit me. I knew what would make it taste so much better.

"VINEGAR!" I yelled. "THIS WOULD TASTE SO MUCH BETTER WITH VINGEAR!"

Edward looked at me like I was crazy.

"Vinegar...?" he asked. I nodded furiously.

"Get me some vinegar, Eddie!" I demanded. Just then, Carlisle walked in.

"Vinegar?" he asked. Edward told him the whole story.

It was very strange; the two Edwards were talking to two Carlisles. Edward looked very preeeeetty when he talked. Like an angel. Or a god. Or an albino person. Hehehe...albino. That's a funny word. Albino, albino, albino.

"Why are you saying 'albino'?" Edward asked. Oops. Was I saying that out loud?

"I'll tell you if you get me some vinegar!" I said happily. I didn't know why I was so happy. Oh ya! Because I had been saying the word 'albino'! Albino, albino, albino...

"Bella, will you please explain why you keep saying 'albino,' " Carlisle said.

I shook my head. Not until I got vinegar.

"Alright, Bella, I need to make sure the medication didn't affect you too much. Do you feel dizzy?" Carlisle asked. I nodded.

"Nauseous?"

"Nope."

"Hot and feverish?"

"Sooooooooorta."

"Do you have chills?"

"Uh uh."

"Ok. Well, Bella, I'm going to give you some medication that will make you fall asleep, ok?"

"No! Wait! I want my vinegar water first!" I yelled.

"Bella—" Edward started.

"No! I want vinegar!! Now!" I said. Edward and Carlisle stared at me.

"Alright, fine," Carlisle said. "Anna, will you go get some vinegar?" Carlisle asked the nurse. She nodded and left.

I started playing the beep game while waiting for her.

"Beep. Beep. Beep."

Edward looked at me with a helpless look again, and then looked to Carlisle for help. He shrugged, and then began to play the beep game with me. Carlisle was awesome. I realized that he looked like an angel/god/albino too. Hehe, albino.

"Beep. Albino. Beep. Albino. Beep. Albino," I said. Carlisle joined in on saying "albino" with me. Edward stared at us and then took out his cell phone. I think he was taking a video of us playing the beep game.

Anna returned a few minutes later with my vinegar. I poured it into the glass with hot water in it and took a big drink.

It was delicious.

* * *

**Lol! I that got drugs/crazy idea from Grey's Anatomy. And the vinegar thing...i actually have a friend who took medicine that gave him weird cravings for things and he woke up in the middle of the night and got hot water and then thought "this would be better with vinegar!" and drank it and loved it. So ya. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter...i thought we needed some comic relief!**

**Next chapter out in 1-4 days!**

**Till then—**

**Danielle **


	13. is the beep game fun when not on drugs?

**Yay! Another chapter! Lol that last chapter was AWESOME wasn't it! It you want to know the whole story of my friend who gave me the inspiration for the vinegar thing message me and I'll tell you!**

**Disclaimer:**

**My boyfriend: --_grabs twilight off a shelf—_I'm going to burn this book because you love Edward more than me!!**

**Me: noooooooo!! –_attempts to steal twilight from him—_**

**My boyfriend –_throws twilight into a fire—_haha! I win!**

**Me: ­_--cries—_**

**My boyfriend: why do you care so much? It's not like you own twilight.**

**Me: why does everyone keeps saying that! I KNOW I DON'T OWN IT! _–storms away from my boyfriend...still crying—_**

**Chapter 13**

I felt very weird when I woke up. "Huh...? Edward...?" I asked groggily. In an instant he was by my side.

"Good to see you awake again, my love," he said as he kissed my forehead. I smiled.

"What time is it?" I asked.

He looked down at his watch. "About 8:30 am on Wednesday," he said.

"I feel really weird," I said. "Sort of...dizzy. And theres a really weird taste in my mouth..."

Edward laughed. "You don't remember anything of what happened yesterday afternoon?" he asked.

I shook my head. Then he laughed louder.

"It was very funny. Here, I took a video of you on my phone," he said as he took out his cell phone. I saw myself with a dazed look on my face, saying "Beep. Albino. Beep. Albino." Then Carlisle came into the picture too, and I noticed that he was saying it with me. I looked incredulously at Edward.

"I did that?" I asked him. He nodded. I blushed a shade of red, and wondered what other strange things I had done.

"What's the weird taste in my mouth from?" I asked him. He laughed again.

"You got a very random craving for hot water with vinegar in it," he said between laughs.

"Vinegar...?" I asked, stunned. I had drunken **(is it drunken? I don't really know...)** vinegar?!

"Yes. It was very funny, because after you drank it you said 'yum'. I wondered how you could've thought steamed water with vinegar tasted good..." he trailed off. I blushed again.

"Now I know to never do drugs or get drunk..." I muttered. Of course, Edward heard me. He laughed.

"No, you shouldn't. Although it was very amusing," he said with a grin as he remembered what I was like. I slapped his arm.

"I'm sure it wasn't as fun for me!" I said.

"Actually, you looked like you were having the time of your life. You couldn't stop smiling and giggling."

I wish I could've seen myself.

Edward and I continued talking about my experience on drugs, and at around 9:00 Charlie came in to the hospital room.

"Morning, Bells. Are you feeling better?" he asked. I nodded. Anything was better than how I had felt yesterday.

"Did you talk to Ren—Mom?" I asked him.

"Yes. She was very worried, but I told her that everything was fine. She said that she wants to come down and visit, but I told her that you would call her first," he said. "Edward, do you think I can have a bit of privacy with Bella?" Edward nodded and walked out of the room.

"Bella...I've been thinking a lot about your punishment from the motorcycles. Seeing you get into trouble two days in a row—first with the robber and then the super-wolf—made me think a lot."

Was he about to say what I thought he was going to? Oh, no, Bella. Don't get your hopes up...

"So, because you have been very good about your grounding from before, and because you having a near-death experience has opened my eyes, I have decided that your grounding is going to be uplifted."

I almost jumped out of the hospital bed with joy.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much Dad. Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" I yelled with glee. I wondered how Edward was reacting to this, because I was sure he was listening to our conversation.

I threw my arms around Charlie and hugged him as tight as I could. I was squealing with delight, but then stopped because I was sure I sounded like Jessica or Lauren when they were excited, and I _really _didn't want to sound like them.

Charlie hugged me back. "Well, Bella, I have to work today, so I need to go. I'll come back and check on you after work, so at about 6:30 or 7. Don't forget to call your mom, she has been waiting for your call since last night." He gave me one final hug and then stood up and walked out of the room.

Edward didn't come back in right away. I thought about last night, and started laughing when I realized how dumb I was. I drank vinegar...

And I liked it.

Then I began to laugh harder. I wondered if I would like vinegar if I were to drink it now.

Then I began to wonder if the "beep game" actually was fun...

"Beep. Beep. Beep," I said with the heart-checker machine. Hey, this wasn't half bad. "Beep. Beep. Beep." Hmmm...was albino as much fun to say as it had been last night...? "Albino. Beep. Albino. Beep. Albino..." Hey. This was fun!

Wow. I'm an idiot.

But, I kept playing the beep game until Edward came back into my room.

"Were you playing the beep game again..." he asked cautiously. I laughed and nodded.

"I wanted to see if it was as fun now as it was when I was on drugs. It actually wasn't too bad of a game..." I said with a grin.

He looked me with raised eyebrows. "It wasn't too bad...?" he asked. I nodded, blushing. He must think I'm an moron...

Edward looked at the machine with a thoughtful look then he did something that I wasn't expecting.

"Beep. Beep. Beep," he said. I laughed. Then I joined in with him.

"Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Albino. Beep. Albino. Beep. Albino," we said. Carlisle walked in to check on me less than a minute later, and stopped in his tracks when he saw what we were doing. Then he grinned and began to play the beep game with us.

A few seconds later the nurse, Anna, walked in. She starred at us all with a bewildered expression and said "Um...I'll just come back later..." and turned around. I thought I heard her mutter "They're all crazy..." as she left.

We all burst out laughing.

"Your right...the 'beep game' is rather fun..." Edward said with a grin. I laughed, and so did Carlisle.

"I'm sure it was a lot more fun when you were on drugs, right, Bella," Carlisle said. I nodded.

"I don't remember it at all, but I'm guessing that it probably was..." I said. Then we all started laughing again.

I couldn't wait until I became a part of this family.

**Yay! The beep game returns!!! I have a suggestion for all of you...try playing the beep game. Just, right now, start saying "beep. Albino. Beep. Albino."**

**ISN'T IT FUN!!!!!!**

**Lol. I'm a loser. **

**Sorry that chapter took so long and sorry it's short...i just thought that was a good place to end. **

**I may have the next chapter out by tomorrow or the next day, but I don't know. I'm sort of slow with the updates because I'm with strep, pink eye, and last night my eardrum popped...**

**So I can't update as often as I want to because my mom makes me sleep all the time. Ya.**

**IMPORTANT**

**I'm sort of not sure where to go from here in the story. Well, I know whats going to happen eventually, but I don't know for sure how to get to it. So I'm asking one person so message me or leave a review if you want to help me with my story. Ya.**

**Bye for now!**

**--- danielle ---**


	14. a delicious dessert

**Hey everyone! I'm sure your all so happy because I have the next chapter! Like...duh! This is only like...the best story EVER! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!**

**Ahem...um...I'm sorry I don't know what came over me...**

**Ya sorry bout that...i was kinda having fun...**

**Disclaimer**

**Me: --_is sick with pink eye, strep, and an ear infection and is having hallucinations and sees Edward walk into the room— _hey...it's Edward! Whats up?**

**Edward: oh, nothing. I just wanted to visit you because your sick and I hate seeing you in pain...**

**Me: oh...that's so sweet!**

**Edward: Yes, I am a very sweet person. Bella loves me for that.**

**Me: wait...your still in love with Bella!? We're so over!!!!**

**Edward: I'm sorry...its just that—**

**Bella: --_walks into my room-- _Edward?! What are you doing here!?? Geeze, hanging out with this girl who doesn't even own Twilight!**

**Me: I hate being sick...**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"_Your right...the 'beep game' is rather fun..." Edward said with a grin. I laughed, and so did Carlisle._

"_I'm sure it was a lot more fun when you were on drugs, right, Bella," Carlisle said. I nodded._

"_I don't remember it at all, but I'm guessing that it probably was..." I said. Then we all started laughing again._

_I couldn't wait until I became a part of this family._

I was out of the hospital a few days later. It was great to have my freedom back, to be able to hang out with Edward and the rest of the Cullens whenever I wanted without getting in trouble with Charlie. And to make things even better, it was only four weeks until graduation.

Until I became a vampire.

Edward was still very upset about the whole thing. He didn't want to "damn me to a life of darkness," is what he always said. I would always reply by saying that _life without him_ was darkness.

He usually changed the subject when I said that...

But, to put a damper on everything, Renee was going to come to Forks on Friday. Normally I would be incredibly happy to see her, but not under these conditions. She always overreacted about my injuries. And to make everything worse, she would have to meet Edward.

I had called her when I got out of the hospital and tried to convince her not to come, but she told me that she missed me a lot and wanted to visit me. So, she was going to come down at the end of this week.

I'm not so sure Charlie was very happy about her visiting, but I know that Edward was, along with the rest of his family. Well, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Alice, I guess. Rosalie didn't want another member of the Swan family around. Jasper didn't want another human around.

Edward insisted on having dinner with Renee and me. I tried to convince him that it really wasn't a good idea, but he didn't give up on the matter.

"So, Bella, I have reservations at a restaurant in Port Angeles. Actually, the same restaurant that we had our first dinner at together..." he said with a grin as he remembered that night.

"Really, Edward, this isn't necessary," I said for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past two days. "I _really_ don't think it's a good idea for us to have dinner with Renee..."

"Nonsense. She is your mother and it is only proper that I should be introduced to her."

"But, you've already met her!" I insisted.

"Yes, at a hospital. After you 'fell through the window' of a hotel in Arizona. I'm not so sure that really counts, Bella."

I scowled at him. "You had plenty of time to get to know her then. If I remember correctly, you both were sleeping there, waiting for me to wake up. What did you do all that time when I was still unconscious? Work on your knitting skills?"

"Very funny Bella..."

"I'm serious! You had plenty of time to get to know her, and if you didn't, well, that's your own problem."

He stood up from where he was sitting at my kitchen table and walked over to me. I stood up from the chair opposite of him, where I had been sitting, and started walking the other way around the table.

"Bella..." he said as we were across from each other again.

"No. There is _no way_ Edward Cullen. No way you are coming anywhere near me and dazzling me into agreeing with you. No. Way."

He began to walk around the table to my side, but I also ran around the table in the opposite direction of him. I knew it was stupid, that he could outrun me and catch me at anytime, but still. I liked pretending that I could win this argument. It made me...um...feel better about myself...?

Suddenly I looked up and Edward was gone.

"Edward...?" I asked. I hated when he did this. Now I had no idea where he was and he would probably come out in a few seconds and scare the bejeebers out of me.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, get your butt out here and talk to me!" I said angrily.

Suddenly I felt a cold pair of hands wrap around my waist. I turned around quickly, not expecting him to come from behind me, and hit my head into his.

Now, I'm not sure if you've ever hit your head into granite, but trust me, it hurts. A lot.

"Owwwwwwww!" I yelled. I put my hands over my forehead and gasped in pain.

"Oh my gosh, Bella, I'm so sorry," Edward said as he picked me up effortlessly and carried me to the couch. He set me down and ran over to the fridge, and came back with a bag of ice.

"Put this on your head, it might help," he said. I cautiously put it on my forehead, but quickly pulled it off.

"Owwwww!" I yelled again.

"What? What is it?" he asked anxiously.

"Its...cold..." I said sheepishly. He chuckled. "Well, what do you know of that's a little warmer than ice?" he asked me.

I thought for a moment, and then grabbed his hand and put it on my forehead. This was much better than ice. He laughed again.

"This works, I guess," he said to me. I grinned at him. He grinned back mockingly.

"Hey! Don't make me come up there and...um..."

"And what? Bang your head into mine? Because Bella, we've already realized that doing that isn't helpful..." he said. I scowled at him again.

"Edward Cullen, you have to be the most self-absorbed, arrogant, annoying, selfish person I have ever met!" I said as threw his hand off my forehead and turned away from him.

"Yes, but also the most handsome, charming, adorable, sweetest person you have ever met. Although, I'm not sure 'person' is quite the right word..." he said. I suppressed a giggle.

"Even though all those things may be true, that still doesn't change the fact that you are the most self-absorbed, arro—"

"—arrogant, annoying, selfish 'person' you have ever met. Yes, I get it. I'm extremely terrible."

"Yes, you are," I said. I turned back to look at him. His face was right there. Like, _right there_.

"Well, I guess then if you think I am all of those things, I'll just be going. No reason to have a self-absorbed, arrogant, annoying, selfish 'person' in your house, is there?" he breathed. He still didn't more his face.

"I...um..." I stuttered. He moved closer to me and kissed me gently. We began to kiss more passionately, and stopped a while later so I could breathe. As he pulled away, I looked into his gorgeous topaz eyes. Then I realized that they weren't topaz. They were black.

"Um...Edward...how long has it been since you hunted?" I asked him.

He had a mischievous grin on his face. I recognized the way he looked at me. It was like how he looked when he was carrying me out of the battle 5 days ago. Like I was a delicious dessert, waiting to be devoured.

"Three weeks, maybe more," he said to me. His voice sounded very strange. Like, part of him was trying to get me close to him so he could bite me, and the other part was struggling to keep the monster within him away from me.

I stood up and slowly walked away from him. "Edward..." I said cautiously.

He still looked at me like I was a dessert. Just then, Alice burst into my house.

"You guys! You guys! I just saw—" she yelled excitedly. But then she stopped mid-sentence, stunned by what she was seeing.

"Edward, NO!" she yelled as she ran for Edward. She grabbed him just as he lunged for me. I heard a huge booming noise, and saw Edward fall to the ground, with Alice holding him down.

"Edward!!!" Alice yelled. "Edward! Get a hold of yourself! This is Bella! _Your_ Bella! Edward!" He continued thrashing around for a few seconds, until he seemed to get a hold on himself.

Throughout all of this, I was pressed up against my wall, with a stunned look on my face. After Edward stopped struggling, Alice let him stand up. He walked over to me very slowly.

"Bella..." he said. It was barely a whisper. "Bella...I'm so sorry."

Just then I realized that I was crying. He took a step closer to me, but I shook my head. "Get away," I said. Then I turned on my heel and ran over to the stairs.

But me being who I am, tripped before I reached the stairs. Unfortunately, Edward didn't catch me. I fell and hit my head on the floor in the same place that I had hit Edward's head just minutes earlier.

I didn't want to stand up again. So I turned my head so it was facing away from Alice and Edward and then began to cry again.

"Bella..." I heard Edward whisper. I saw feet as he walked up next to me. I stood up quickly and ran up to my room. I slammed the door and leaned up against it, and slowly sank down so I was sitting on the floor. Then I began to cry even harder.

I heard Alice and Edward talking quickly to each other downstairs. I couldn't make any of it out, except for Alice saying one thing.

"Nice going, Edward."

* * *

**Oooooo. Lol. Yes well if your all "what was Alice's vision? Volturi? Victoria? Wolves again?" then you will just have to wait. That question will be answered in the next chapter.**

**And I know in this chapter Bella sounds very proper: **

"Really, Edward, this isn't necessary,"...

But, to put a damper on everything...

Edward insisted on having dinner with Renee and me.

...didn't give up on the matter.

**Etc, etc, etc. I kinda don't know where that came from. I started writing all proper after my freaky un-proper authors note. It was really weird actually...**

**Please hit the little purple button on the bottom of the page that says "go" and review. Its really not that difficult! Just saying "nice chapter!" is helpful! (although I would appreciate more...)**

**Next chapter our in 2-4 days...i hope!**

**Until then,**

**-danielle-**


	15. forgiveness?

**Helluuuuuuuuuuuuuuu everyone. Lol. I like the word "hellu". Hehehe.**

**Sorry...i just ate a whole thing of gourmet cheese (I'm kinda addicted to it...) and now I'm really hyper. **

**Hehe.**

**On with the next chapter!**

**Oh by the way...do you guys like that I have a flashback from the last chapter or is that just annoying?**

**Disclaimer**

**Me: --_is making out with my boyfriend when someone bursts into the room—_**

**Mysterious person: haHA! Now I've caught you!**

**Me: who are you?**

**Mysterious person: I'm reality!**

**Me: crap...**

**Reality: and you STILL don't own Twilight! Muhaha! –_leaves the room­_--**

**My boyfriend: what the heck...?**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

"_Bella..." I heard Edward whisper. I saw feet as he walked up next to me. I stood up quickly and ran up to my room. I slammed the door and leaned up against it, and slowly sank down so I was sitting on the floor. Then I began to cry even harder. _

_I heard Alice and Edward talking quickly to each other downstairs. I couldn't make any of it out, except for Alice saying one thing._

"_Nice going, Edward."_

I don't know how long I was in my room before Alice came in. When she did, she cautiously opened the door and then gracefully sat down next to me.

"Bella...are you ok?" she asked gently. I looked up at her.

"I know I shouldn't be this upset over it. He didn't come close to actually touching me or hurting me. But it still reminds me of my birthday...when Jasper attacked me. I just didn't think I would ever see my _boyfriend_ like that."

Alice looked at me with sad eyes.

"But then I think...if you hadn't come..." I trailed off, unable to finish.

"...then you would be dead right now," she finished quietly. I looked away.

"No..." I whispered. "Then I would be becoming one of _you_ right now..." I looked back at Alice. I was unable to read her expression.

"Oh...Bella..." she said. Then she pulled me into a much needed hug.

"Bella," she said, "don't worry about not being one of us. The reason I came over here was actually to tell you something about that."

"What is it?" I asked eagerly.

"I think we should be with Edward when I tell you. He is still in your living room, he feels extremely bad about the whole thing."

"Well, let's go. I have to make sure he knows that I forgive him." We walked downstairs, and when I reached the bottom I looked over and saw Edward. He looked up at me and our eyes met.

"Bella...I'm so sorry..." he said.

"It's ok, Edward. Really, I forgive you."

"But, Bella. That is the second time I almost killed you in the last week! If I hadn't promised that I would stay with you, then..." he trailed off.

"Then...what? Wait, were you going to say 'then I would leave'? Were you?!" I asked. He looked away from me, and I saw his expression turn into a frown.

"I would _never_ do that, Bella. I was just...talking." He looked back at me and then walked over so he was standing right in front of me. "I swear to you, on my non-beating heart and non-existent soul, that I will never leave you. Ever. Even if I think it would be for the best. I know how much damage that did before, and I promise that it will _never _happen again." Then he leaned down and kissed me.

And he knew he was forgiven, because I kissed him back.

"Ahem," said Alice. "If you two love muffins could listen to me for a moment, I have some great news." Love muffins?! I let out a giggle, but neither of them seemed to notice.

Edward walked so he was standing next to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Go ahead, Alice," he said.

"I had a vision," she said. She looked like she was going to explode from excitement. "And in it, I saw something FABULOUS!"

"Just tell us already!" I insisted.

She let out a squeal of glee and then said "I saw us going on a ROAD TRIP!!!"

Edward looked at her with a stunned/confused/frightened look on his face. "R-r-road tr-trip?" he asked. I could barely hear him.

"Whats so bad about a road trip?" I asked him.

"You've never been on a road trip with Alice..." he whispered to me.

"I heard that!" she yelled. "But that's not even the best part of the vision!" she said with joy.

"I would hope not..." Edward muttered. Alice ignored him.

"The best part is that I saw you two love birds holding hands, and, Bella, your eyes were TOPAZ!!"

I gasped and ran over to Alice. We both grabbed each others hands and jumped up and down, while squealing with delight.

"Oh my gosh! Alice, are you sure?!" I asked, still in disbelief. She nodded.

"Not only were your eyes topaz, but your skin what a lot lighter, and you looked so _different_!"

"Like, different how?" I asked with excitement.

"Well, your hair was longer, and you had some beautiful natural highlights. And your eyes, of course, and your lips were also fuller. And," she leaned in to whisper to me, "the part that Edward will like best, your boobs were bigger." We both giggled. I felt like a immature four year old, but, hey, whatever.

"What?" Edward asked.

"Oh...nothing," I said with a mischievous grin. I saw him get a serious look on his face, and then he broke into his crooked grin. I looked at him with a questioning look.

"Sorry, Bella. I couldn't conceal my thoughts..." Alice said apologetically.

"It's fine, Alice." I turned to Edward. "So...are you going to like the new me?" I asked him in an alluring voice.

"Oh, most definitely," he growled in the sexiest voice I'd ever heard. Alice cleared her throat.

"Um...hello...I'm still here..." she said. We both glanced at her, us with apologetic looks this time.

"Sorry..." we both muttered. I looked over at Edward, but his expression had changed. Now he looked...sad.

"What is it?" I asked. Then it hit me. Edward would, of course, be sad that I was for sure going to become a vampire. That I was going to be "damned to a life of darkness". He looked up at me from where he had been looking at the floor. His eyes were full of sadness, anger, and another look that I couldn't quite place.

Alice looked at him, understanding too. She walked over to comfort him. She put her hand on his shoulder and then whispered something too fast and quiet for me to hear. Edward nodded to whatever she said, and then whispered something back just as fast and quiet.

"Whats going on...?" I asked suspiciously. I had the feeling that their conversation had moved on from him being upset.

"Nothing," they said together. They answered too quickly...it made me even more suspicious than before.

"Bella," Edward said. He didn't sound as nervous that I would figure out his plan, but he seemed to have a certain excited edge in his voice, "what time do you think Charlie is going to be home? I have to talk to him about your mother's visit."

"Um...he gets off work at 6 tonight. Why, what do you have to talk to him about?" I asked.

He walked over to me again and put his face very close to mine. "That is for me to know," he breathed, "and for you to find out," I could smell his breath, and inhaling so much of his wonderful scent made me dizzy.

"Um...right...ok..." I said, still disoriented. He grinned.

"Bella, I'm so very sorry, but I need to go. I drank from a squirrel after you went up to your room just to be on the safe side, but I still haven't gone on a big hunting trip in a while. I need to go."

"It's fine, Edward. Please, please, please go hunt. I know you really need it," I said as I smiled at him. He still hadn't moved his face away from mine, so it was very hard to get that entire sentence out without fainting.

"Alice?" he said, still without moving his face away from mine. I thought I saw Alice glide over to us, but I couldn't be sure. I was a bit preoccupied with Edward's gorgeous face. "Alice, will you please stay here with Bella? I don't want her to be alone..." he trailed off.

"Sure. Oh my gosh, Bella, we can go SHOPPING!" she squealed.

"No!!!!!!!" Edward and I shouted at the exact same time. Alice pouted, but then nodded.

"Fine. But I AM going to give you a makeover, whether you or your _boyfriend_ likes it or not," she said, a bit angry that she couldn't take me shopping.

"Fine, fine, fine. You can give me a small, minor makeover. But not a huge over the top one! I still want to look normal when your done with me!" I said. Alice giggled.

"Alright with me, I just like putting any amount of makeup on you!"

Edward then leaned down to whisper in my ear. "I'll be back later, my love. Probably at around 6:15 or so." I looked over at the clock, and it said 3:03. Three hours, not too unbearable.

"I'll wait for you," I whispered back. Then he moved his face so he could kiss my lips. But before he could, Alice grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the stairs.

"Chop chop! We don't have all day, Bella!" Alice said. Edward raced over to me and grabbed my other arm. Then they began to play a game of tug of war with me.

It hurt.

"Guys! Stop! Ow!" I yelled. Finally Alice let go. Edward and I, not expecting her to let go, flew across the kitchen and landed on the ground, with him lying on his back and me on top of him.

"Well, this is nice," Edward commented. I blushed, and he chuckled. Then he reached up and kissed me gently. We seemed to forget that anyone else was in the room, and we began to deepen the kiss. Then I heard Alice "ahem" again, and we quickly broke apart.

"Sorry," we both said, breathing heavily. She laughed, and then grabbed my arm and dragged my towards the stairs again.

"I'll be back before you know it," Edward said to me before he was out of my sight.

"Bye, I love you, have fun!" I yelled, and heard him laugh. I heard my front door open, and then close again.

* * *

**Yay! **

**Don't ask why I write "yay" at the end of every chapter. I just sorta think "yay...the chapter is done!" or "yay...this chapter owns!" whenever I finish. So then I write yay. **

**I'm random. It's pretty awesome.**

**Next chapter out 1-4 days I hope!**

**Luv yall...till then — **

_**..::danielle::..**_


	16. life sized barbie doll

**Yay next chapter!!**

**I really like the word yay...don't I...**

**Disclaimer:**

**My boyfriend: --_made a bet with his friends that he could not talk to me for a whole day—_**

**Me: hey...whats up?**

**My boyfriend: ...**

**Me: so guess what...I love Twilight and New Moon!**

**My boyfriend: ...**

**Me: and guess what...i wish I owned them!**

**My boyfriend: ...well guess what! You don't own them! HaHA!**

**The person who he made the bet with: YOU LOSE! HAHAHAHAHA!**

**Me: why did you talk! You just lost!**

**My boyfriend: I had to make sure that you knew that you didn't own Twilight or New Moon...**

**Me: moron...**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

"_I'll be back before you know it," Edward said to me before he was out of my sight. _

"_Bye, I love you, have fun!" I yelled, and heard him laugh. I heard my door open, and then close again._

I never thought this torture would end.

I had spent the two hours in my bathroom, with my hair being pulled in all directions, being poked with various makeup items, and being shoved into an outfit that I knew must've been over $100.

It was awful. "Alice..." I whined for the billionth time in the past two hours, "how much longer until I'm free?"

She laughed that musical laugh that I loved. "I'm almost done, Bella. And then when I finish, I can take a picture of you and show it to Edward. He'll be very upset that he didn't get to see you like this," she said with a smirk. I laughed.

"I'm sure he'll survive. But me, on the other hand..."

"Oh, Bella, your fine."

"No, I'm not. I think one of these days I'll have been poked and prodded by you too many times and then I'll die."

Alice laughed. "Well, until then, you are my Barbie doll." I groaned. At times I got the feeling that Alice was my own personal demon, summoned to make me suffer.

Alice adjusted my hair one last time before saying that she was finished. I stood up to look in a full length mirror.

I gasped when I saw the girl who was looking back at me. She was beautiful, to say the least.

Now, I had never really been the vain type. I never considered myself beautiful, I never looked in a mirror and thought "I'm pretty today!" never spent hours putting on makeup so I would look perfect. But now when I looked in the mirror, I did—or said, rather—something I never thought I would.

"I'm...gorgeous..." I breathed.

"That is an understatement," Alice said, obviously proud of her word. "Now, time to take a picture!" Alice practically sang.

We spent the next 15 minutes trying to get the perfect picture of me. after a while, we got one that I loved. I never knew I could look so attractive.

After Alice got her perfect picture, she told me that it was time to put my regular clothes back on. To my surprise as much as hers, I wanted to keep these clothes on.

"I feel so beautiful, Alice! And Edward should be back soon, I really want him to see this," I said.

"Fine," she replied. Suddenly, her face went black, and I knew she must be having a vision. When her face turned back to normal, she looked at me with an expression that I couldn't read.

"Well, when Edward is taking your clothes off you, please tell him not to throw them on the floor. I don't want them to get wrinkled."

I blushed a deep shade of red. Alice laughed and grabbed my hand.

"Come on, lets go downstairs and eat. I'm sure your hungry." I nodded gratefully, I was starving.

"What do you want?" she asked when we arrived in the kitchen.

"You'll make me something?" I asked in surprise. She nodded. "I hope you're a better chef than Edward..." I muttered. She heard me, of course, and laughed.

"I'm sure I'm much better," Alice replied with confidence.

She began to get some random ingredients out of my cupboards and my fridge. I had no idea what she was planning on making me.

"Alice, what...?"

"Oh, don't worry, Bella. I know what I'm doing. Now, I sort of want this to be a surprise, so can you leave for a second?" I nodded, walked into the living room, and sat down on the couch.

Not even 2 minutes later, she called me to tell me that my meal was finished. I walked into the kitchen to see a turkey sandwich. I plain, ordinary, turkey sandwich.

I looked over at Alice and gave her a questioning look, and she just shrugged. "I wanted to confuse you, so I got out a lot of random things. The only thing I really know how to make is a turkey sandwich, so that's what I made!" she said happily. I laughed, and she joined in.

I sat down and took a bite of the sandwich. Surprise surprise, it was delicious.

"Yum. Thanks, Alice," I said between chews. I looked over at the clock and saw that it said 5:43.

Only 15 minutes until Edward got back.

As I was finishing my sandwich, Alice had another vision. When it was over, she squealed with glee.

"What did you see, Alice?" I asked her.

"Oh...um...nothing..." she said suspiciously.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What. Did. You. See." She shook her head.

"Really, Bella, it was nothing." I could tell she was lying because she was practically jumping up and down in delight. But I let it go, knowing I wouldn't be able to get any information out of her.

"Alice, just tell me one thing. Was it a good vision?" I asked. It was sort of a stupid question, seeing that she was squealing with joy, but I asked her anyway.

She looked at me with a huge grin. "It was a _very_ good vision."

"What vision?"

I turned to look at where the voice was coming from. I saw him standing in the doorway, in all his vampiric perfection.

Edward.

He must have arrived back early from his hunting trip, because when I glanced at the clock it was only 5:50.

Edward walked over to me and gave me a quick kiss.

"How was your hunt?" I asked him.

"It was fine. But whats this I hear about a vision?" He hadn't taken his eyes off my face since he walked in, but now he turned to look at Alice. I could tell that she was talking to him in her thoughts. "Oh..." he said. Then he nodded, and I saw Alice's eyes light up with happiness. Then Edward turned to look back at me, but he did a double take when he saw my outfit.

"Bella...you look...beautiful..." he breathed. He looked up and down my body. "Alice..." he said. I could tell it was supposed to be a thank you, but he was so mesmerized by me that he couldn't say much. I loved the rare times when I had this effect on him.

I looked over at Alice, and she winked at me, then left Edward and I alone.

He looked at my face again, and then brushed my cheek with the back of his hand.

"So...you like this?" I asked, gesturing to my clothes.

" 'Like it' doesn't even begin to describe it," he said. I grinned he leaned in to kiss me, but I stopped him, remembering something.

"Alice wanted me to tell you not to throw my clothes on the floor when you take them off me so they don't get wrinkled," I said. He chuckled.

"I'll try, but I may be a bit too preoccupied to remember," he said. Then he kissed me.

I thought I had gotten over my crazy reactions to kissing him, but I guess not. Because when our lips met, I freaked out. I practically threw myself on him, and the best part was he didn't stop me.

I was very glad that he had taken the time to hunt, because now I didn't have to worry about him losing control as easily. I still knew it was a possibility, but now he had power over his senses. He wasn't going to hurt me, that much I could tell.

He picked me up, and I had my legs wrapped around his waist. With his amazing vampire speed, he ran up to my room and laid me down, without breaking the kiss. His hands roamed all over my body, and after a while he began to kiss my neck. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Edwar..." I moaned. He moved his lips and kissed under my ear, then moved his lips across my cheek, chin, and finally to my other ear. I sat up and felt him playing with the bottom of my shirt. I could tell that he _wanted_ it off me, but wasn't sure if he _should_ take it off me. I settled his decision by ripping it off, and he grinned. Then I reached for his shirt and pulled it off him and we began to kiss again.

I don't know how long we were up in my room making out, but eventually we heard Charlie's car drive up. I jumped up from where I had been laying on Edward and grabbed my shirt and pants. We had forgotten to follow Alice's orders to not throw the clothes on the floor; we were a bit preoccupied to take them off and fold them neatly. I hoped Alice wouldn't be too mad.

Edward and I rushed downstairs and turned on the TV so it looked like that's what we had been doing the whole time.

Charlie looked sort of sad and angry when he walked in.

"Whats wrong, Dad? Hard day at work?" I asked. He looked at me and shook his head, and then looked over to Edward. He seemed to get angrier as they made eye contact.

Edward gave Charlie a pleading look, and Charlie sighed, composed his face, and nodded.

I looked from Edward to Charlie with a puzzled look on my face. What is going on here?

Just then Alice walked into the living room from upstairs, like she had been here the whole time. She probably didn't want Charlie to think Edward and I had been here alone.

"Oh, hello Charlie!" she said with a smile. Charlie looked at Edward and inclined his head towards Alice, as if to ask "does she know?" Edward nodded and Charlie looked over at Alice.

At first Alice looked confused like I did, but then comprehension dawned on her face, along with a huge smile. She raised her eyebrows at Charlie like she was saying "isn't it GREAT!"

Now I was freaked out.

"Whats going on here...?" I asked.

"Nothing," they replied quickly, all at the same time. I narrowed my eyes at them.

I looked Charlie in the eye and stared him down. He shrugged, and I noticed that he still looked a bit angry.

I looked over to Alice, who shook her head and made a motion to zip her lips. This was incredibly frustrating.

Finally I turned my head to stare at Edward.

"It's nothing, love, don't worry," he said.

"It is NOT nothing! You tell me what is going on here RIGHT NOW!" I yelled.

He walked over to me and looked into my eyes. "You'll find out soon enough," he said. "I promise."

I almost melted.

"Mmmkay..." I whispered, enchanted by him. He leaned down to give me a reassuring peck on the lips, but I freaked out again and basically attacked him again. It took him by surprise, and I could tell that for some reason he didn't want to kiss me back, but he couldn't resist.

I ran my fingers through his hair and he but his hands on my back, pulling me closer to him. I opened my mouth a little, and he did the same. I was very surprised that he let me go this far, but then he realized what he was doing and pulled back slightly, but continued to kiss me.

I had this weird feeling that we shouldn't be kissing right now, but I ignored it. This kiss was amazing. Then I heard a strange noise come from behind us.

It was someone clearing their throat.

Crap. I forgot about Charlie. He was still in the room, and he just saw me and Edward make out, right before his eyes. This might be a problem.

"Edward..." he said. I could tell he was trying not to explode, "I think you need to leave now..." Edward nodded and left. Alice muttered something about leaving too, and then she walked out the door.

Charlie turned to me.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!!!!!!"

Yes, this was definitely going to be a problem.

* * *

**Ooooooooo...she's in trouble. Lol. **

**Next chapter in like 1-4 days. **

**Please please please review!!!**

**Till next time--**

**danielle**


	17. charile realized i'm growing up?

**I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I—like everyone else—was having troubles uploading chapters, but now I figured out how to do it. YAY ME!! (if anyone else is having trouble, well, I don't feel like explaining it here but you can message Addie W. who told me and she'll explain it to you!!) **

**This chapter has Edward's POV in it again! Yay! Someone's POV besides Bella's! **

**_--the reason the date is weird in the disclaimer is because I wrote this chapter on April 11, and in the note at the bottom I was talking about what it was like on that day-- _**

**Disclaimer: **

**Me: I hate the weather creator man. Today is April 11th and it's SNOWING OUTSIDE! ARGH! **

**Weather creator man: hehehehe **

**Me: I hate you. **

**Weather creator man: what ya gonna do about it? Huh? Throw snow at me!? **

**Me: why are you being so mean to me!? **

**Weather creator man: I'm mean to you because Reality can't make you feel like crap because you don't own Twilight, so now I have to make you feel like crap because its snowing!! **

**Me: if I owned twilight I bet it wouldn't be snowing... **

**Weather creator man: well I guess we'll never know because you don't! HAHAHAHAH!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 17 **

_"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!!!!!!"_

_Yes, this was definitely going to be a problem. _

"Dad...I—" Charlie held up his hand and I stopped talking. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and looked like he was deep in though. Then he opened his eyes and looked at me.

"You love him. He loves you. And you are 18, so I suppose I can't really stop you from kissing him. But, from now on, will you please not kiss him in the middle of the kitchen?"

I looked at Charlie, stunned. He hadn't punished me. He didn't really even yell at me. This was not the Charlie I knew.

Who was this man and what did he do with the real Charlie?

"Um...sure, Dad. Sorry..." I said. Then I turned around and walked upstairs. Of course, Edward was waiting for me. I smiled sheepishly at him and he chuckled. He opened his mouth to say something, but I said something first.

"Do you know why Charlie is acting strange?" I asked.

"Strange? Strange how?" he questioned.

"Well, for one, he hardly got mad at me just now..."

"Oh, he was mad. He just didn't say how angry he really was. If you could've heard what he was _thinking_..." he grinned and I laughed.

"But...why didn't he yell at me then?"

"I guess he realizes that you are growing up. He trusts you more."

Charlie realized I'm growing up? That didn't seem like the Charlie I know...

But who was I to complain? If Charlie was going to give me more freedom, then I would take it without questions.

"Bella, is there any dinner?" Charlie yelled from downstairs.

"I'll come and make something," I yelled back. Then I turned to Edward. "Are you going to be back later?" I asked him. He nodded in reply.

"I have to go talk to the rest of my family, but I should be back around 9:00 or so," he replied.

"What do you have to talk to them about?" I asked him.

"Oh...nothing. Just, uh, something about Emmett. He doesn't want me to talk about it. Anyway, I'll be back later." He kissed the top of my head, and then he was gone.

Something about Emmett? I wondered. What could possibly be wrong with Emmett? I hated that he was such a good liar, I could never tell when he was lying or telling the truth! But he must be lying to me now. But, Edward never lied to me. Did he? But he must be, because in his answer he stuttered. Edward didn't stutter.

This had to have something to do with the weird plan that Charlie, Alice, and Edward all knew about. I hated not knowing secrets. This was going to be annoying.

I walked downstairs and saw Charlie watching TV.

Typical.

"What do you want for dinner, Dad?" I asked.

"I don't mind. Whatever you feel like making is ok with me," he replied.

"Well...um...there is a lot of leftover soup in the fridge if you want some of that," I suggested.

"Sure, ya, that's fine, Bells. Whatever works for you," he said. I could tell he wanted me to stop talking to him so he could get back to watching the game.

I went over to the fridge and looked for the soup left over from a week ago. It was hidden in the very back, behind some weird, cone shaped bottle labeled "Globmix® Fish Flavor."

I did NOT want to know what is in that bottle...

I reached around the Fish Globmix and grabbed the soup container. I had to plug my nose because it smelled so bad, but then I realized that it smelled the same as it had last week.

How Charlie could like this stuff was beyond me.

I poured he fish soup into a pot and put it on the stove. I had learned through all my time of cooking in Forks that leftovers were always better when heated by the stove, not a microwave. I put the stove on medium heat and waited.

I decided that Charlie might want something else to go with his soup. I went back to the fridge and looked for the lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes (but not without having to look behind the Fish Globmix.)

After I found everything, I began to make Charlie his salad.

15 minutes later the salad was done, the soup reheated, and the food on the table.

"Dad, dinners ready!" I called into the living room. Charlie sat down and began to eat.

"So, Bella, your mom's flight gets in at 3:00. She's going to rent a car, and should be here between 3:30 and 4:00," Charlie said. I nodded when he was finished.

"You're going to be around all day tomorrow after school, right?" he asked.

I nodded again, and he breathed a sigh of relief. I laughed silently to myself, because I knew that he was relieved because he wouldn't have to spend any time alone with Renee.

"Bella, aren't you going to eat anything?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, um, sure," I replied. I wasn't totally full from the sandwich Alice had made for me earlier. But, remembering how the soup from last week tastes, I decided to only have salad.

After dinner I realized that I probably should finish my homework. I started it with Edward earlier, (before we got on the subject of dinner with Renee) but I still had to finish my math and work on an English essay.

It took a lot longer than I thought; it was 8:30 by the time I was finished. Then I decided that I was in desperate need of a shower, so I grabbed my bag and headed into the bathroom.

I jumped as I saw my refection, like I did every time I saw it. I ran my fingers over the scars on my face and sighed. Even with I looked incredibly beautiful, like I had when Alice did my makeup earlier, no one could look at me anymore without staring at the scars on my face.

I got out of the hospital on Wednesday, but didn't go to school until today. When I first arrived at school, everyone starred at me. They had good reason to, I suppose, because I had scars on my face, shoulder, and arm. But still, people could be a little more discreet then to stare openly at me whenever I walked into a room.

All of the people at lunch were nice enough about it, I guess (except Lauren, who didn't say anything to me at all. Later Edward told me that she had been thinking "Yes! Now the guys at our table will pay more attention to me instead of Bella because she's ugly!") But even so, everyone treated me differently. Jessica and Mike were overly nice to me, and Tyler even asked (when Edward wasn't in the room, of course) if taking me to the prom would make me feel better. Edward, with his vampire hearing, heard him of course, but I convinced him not to do kill Tyler.

The Cullens were the only people who didn't make a big deal out of it. Emmett made his occasional jokes like "Here comes the zombie woman! Everyone make way!" but I didn't mind it. It was Emmett. Who really cared?

It's was mostly at school when everyone was gaping at me when I realized how grateful I should be to have a boyfriend like Edward, who didn't care what I looked like. Without him, I don't think I could've made it through just this one day, let alone the four weeks we have until graduation.

When I was finished with my shower I walked into my room and saw Edward waiting for me. I smiled at him and we sat down on my bed. I leaned my head on his shoulder and he stroked my wet hair. I looked up at him and leaned in to kiss him, but he stopped me.

"Bella, I think we've had enough of that for one day," he said. I scowled at him and he chuckled. "You should get some rest, Bella. Tomorrow your mother is arriving, and you don't want to seem like a mess in front of her, I'm sure."

"Fine," I replied. I didn't want to go to sleep—it was only 9:00! But Edward did have a point; I knew Renee would freak out if she thought anything was wrong with Forks, and me not sleeping enough falls under that category.

I laid down and Edward went to sit in the rocking chair in the corner. I must've been a lot more tired than I thought, because I fell asleep very quickly.

**Edwards POV (yay!) **

I sat in Bella's rocking chair, watching her sleep and trying not to think.

_Everything is ok_ I told myself. _She doesn't know about the plan. Just don't think about it. Calm down. Calm down. _

But how could I be calm? In less than 24 hours, Bella's life would change. Maybe for the worse, but hopefully for the better, if Charlie kept his end of our bargain. Which he promised he would, (to me, and in his thoughts) so I figured I could trust him.

Ever since I went to talk to Charlie today, I could swear that my non beating heart was beating again because of how nervous I was. Talking to Charlie made it official. I was actually going to do this.

And for the first time in a while, I was incredibly nervous. I hadn't been incredibly nervous for anything in a very long time. Even when I was hunting James I wasn't this nervous.

What was wrong with me? Nobody's life was on the line this time. Well, my own, I suppose, depending on what she said to me. But my life wasn't important anymore. Bella's life was all that mattered to me.

And that's why I was going to do this.

"Edward..." I heard Bella whisper in her sleep. I loved when she said my name in her sleep. If I would've had a heart, it would've made it skip a beat.

"Edward...tell me..." she said. I walked over to her and laid down next to her.

"Shhhh, Bella..." I whispered to her.

"No...tell me..." she whined. It sounded very strange since she was asleep.

"I love you Bella," I whispered. She stopped talking and smiled.

"Love you..." she whispered. I could tell she was falling back into a deeper sleep, because I could barely hear her.

I stood up and went back to sit in the rocking chair.

It was hard to think that in the 110 years I've been on this earth, that Bella was the first person I ever loved. Yes, I loved my family, but not in the same way I loved Bella. The way I loved Bella was...amazing...to say the least. It was rare that two people, even in a school of only 358 students, could both like each other at the same time, and end up falling in love. It was even rarer, in a world with a population of 6.5 billion people, to find your soul mate. Even if you live for 100 years, most people don't find their perfect match. But I have, and it's incredible.

Especially incredible since my soul mate is a perfect, beautiful angel, whereas I am a terrible monster, destined to a life of evil and on a one track road to hell.

Bella is indeed an angel. And it's marvelous to know that she is _my_ angel.

Yes, I love Bella. I love her with all my heart. I love her more than anyone could love anyone else. I even love her enough to kill her.

Oh, what a monster I am! I love her enough to kill her?! To murder the one I love?! Could I possibly be that selfish—that I need her so badly that I was willing to sacrifice her life so I could be with her forever?

Yes, I could be that selfish. And I am. Selfish enough to end her life and condemn her to hell.

But I wouldn't be hell. It would be heaven, because we would be together.

Together.

For all of eternity.

With that in mind, I closed my eyes and let out a sigh of happiness as I leaned back in the chair.

For all of eternity.

I reached in my pocket and pulled out the object Carlisle had given me today. I opened it and looked inside. Just looking at the item within it made me nervous again.

I sighed again as I closed the small, red velvet box and put it back inside my pocket.

* * *

**If you understand what Edward's plan is, then you are smart! **

**If you knew since the last chapter (when I started dropping hints about it) then you are a GENIUS! **

**If you read the part from Edward's POV and got nervous like he was because you get WAY to in to stories, then you're like me! **

**If you have NO IDEA whats going on, then you are still cool. Don't worry. **

**If you review, please tell me if you're "smart", "a genius", "like me", or "cool." **

**I was feeling a bit random today with the disclaimer. You want to know what the sad thing is? It's actually snowing right now. We have 2 inches of snow on the ground and its STILL SNOWING! **

**Ya. **

**Next chapter out in 1-4 days. **

**Please review! **

**-danielle-**


	18. meeting renee

**OMG I have reached 200 reviews! If you only knew how happy this makes me...im like seriously jumping up and down in glee!**

**Well, I kinda don't have a good idea for a disclaimer for this chapter because nothing fun and exciting happened to me recently so im just gonna go back to the boring ones...**

**Disclaimer: the day I own twilight and new moon is the day I become an aquanaut on mars. Really...I **_**seriously**_** don't own it. **

**Chapter 18**

_I reached in my pocket and pulled out the object Carlisle had given me today. I opened it and looked inside. Just looking at the item within it made me nervous again._

_I sighed again as I closed the small, red velvet box and put it back inside my pocket. _

**Bella's POV**

"Edward...I don't see her..."

"Bella, don't worry. She'll be here. It's not like she would decide to not come and not call us."

Edward and I were waiting at the airport to pick up Renee. She had told us that she was going to rent a car, but Edward thought it would be a nice surprise if we picked her up.

"Oh! There she is! I see her!" I said as I saw Renee come off the jetway. "Mom!" I yelled and I began to run towards her.

I only took two steps when I tripped over my own feet. I felt Edward's cold arms wrap around me and set me upright.

"Thanks..." I said as I blushed.

"I am going to hate when you become a vampire," he whispered to me.

"Why? Besides the obvious reasons, of course," I asked.

"Then you won't be as clumsy, and I won't be able to catch you," he said with a smirk. I laughed and then walked, a lot more carefully, to meet Renee.

"Hi Mom!" I said.

"Bella!" she squealed. She wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her back.

"But, why are you here?" she asked after she had released me. "Not that I don't want to see you, but, I was going to rent a car..."

"Ya, I know Mom, but Edward thought it might be a nice surprise if we picked you up." Renee eyed me as I said the word "Edward." Then she looked up to see him standing in front of us.

"Hello, Mrs. Dwyer. Nice to see you again," he said.

"Ah, Edward, yes, nice to see you too," she said. I could only imagine the thoughts going through her head right now; "She took him back? But, why? After what he did to her?"

"Well, Mrs. Dwyer, we should probably collect your bags and then we can drive back to, Bella's house, well, yours, too, I guess...um..." I almost burst out laughing. Edward was struggling at something! The almighty Edward actually did something wrong! I was totally going to rub that in his face!

"'Bella's house' is fine, Edward. Oh, and you can call me Renee."

We walked over to the baggage claim and got the many bags that Renee had brought. One small carry-on bag and two big roller bags. I wondered why she had brought so much stuff.

Then we got into Edward's shiny Volvo (I saw Renee's eyebrows raise when she saw how nice his car was) and he drove us back to my house. I had to constantly remind Edward to lower the speed, he kept going 110 mph on a 60 mph. Luckily, Renee never noticed the speed, because she was too busy chattering away about life in sunny Florida.

It was amazing how much she reminded me of Jessica. Once she started talking, she didn't stop, and it didn't take much effort to have a conversation with her. You just had to "oh," or "uh huh," or "mm" in the appropriate places.

We arrived at my house at about 4:00 (because of Edward's driving...) and I found that Charlie wasn't home. I found a note that he left.

_Bella,_

_I have to work a little later than I thought. I should be back home at about 6:30. I'm sure you can make something, and if not theres always extra fish._

_-Charlie_

Then, below that there was another note.

_Renee,_

_Sorry I'm not here when you get home, but I should get back around 6:30. I hope Bella can make you something good for dinner. I would suggest having her make that soup that she made last week. She'll know what you mean if you ask her for it. _

_-Charlie_

I giggled when I read the suggestion for the soup I had made; I knew Renee would never like it.

"Whats this soup, Bella?" she asked.

"Oh, some gross fish soup that Charlie loved. I wouldn't recommend it..."

Edward helped Renee bring her bags upstairs to my room, where she would be staying. I would be sleeping on the couch, much to my dismay. Renee commented on how much she liked my room, and I mumbled a thank you.

I hated having to share.

"Well, Bella, Renee, I have to be going. Oh, and Renee, I made dinner reservations for the three of us tonight at a restaurant that I'm sure you'll love. I hope that's alright," Edward said.

"Oh, no, that's fine. I can't wait. Well, goodbye, Edward."

After Edward left, Renee grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the couch where we sat down. She took what I called her "gossiping position," with her hands in her lap, and her body turned towards me.

"So, Bella, whats up with you and this boy?" she asked. I sighed, knowing that this had been coming.

"Well, what exactly do you want to know?" I asked her. After I did, I knew I would regret it.

"Well, for starters, why did you take him back?" she asked.

Yup, I regretted it. I hated having to explain this to everyone. I had to explain it to Jessica, Angela, and Mike the first day the Cullens came back to school. And to Charlie when I came back from Italy. Now I had to start all over again, and explain the whole thing to Renee.

"Mom, you saw how I was without Edward. When he came back, I _had_ to take him back. I didn't want to be like that anymore, Mom."

"But, your father said you were healing. That Jacob Black kid—"

"Yes, Mom, Jacob was helping. But I still wasn't completely healed. I was adapting to everything, but without Edward, I knew I would never feel whole again."

"Bella, are you sure? I mean, think of what he did to you!"

"Yes, Mom, I know what he did to me." I was trying to remain calm. It seemed that whenever I had this discussion with someone, I always ended up yelling. "I know what he did, and he's sorry for it. He told me that he felt the same way when he was in, uh, California. We both felt empty. Like there was a hole in our bodies that could only be filled by the others presence. But Mom, now he's back. He's back, and look at me. Look at me. I'm happy," tears were coming to my eyes. Thinking about how much Edward really did mean to me always made me get emotional. "I'm actually happy, Mom. For the first time since he left, I'm truly happy." Now the tears were falling down my face.

"But Bella, I just _know_ he's going to hurt you again—"

That was what usually set me off. And it did this time. It _really_ did.

"He is NOT going to hurt me again! Why can't any of you people get this through your heads?!?! WHY?! Is it because you think he's not good enough for me?! Because let me tell you, that isn't it at all! That is the opposite of what it is." I stood up and was pacing back and forth across the couch. I'm sure I was quite a sight, tears streaming down my face, my makeup smeared because of it, but yelling at the top of my lungs.

"Bella, I didn't mean to upset you, I just—"

"You just what, Mom?" I yelled. But I was calming down a little. "You just, what?" this time I seemed almost totally calm, but my voice cracked on the last word.

"Oh...Bella..." Renee said and she stood up. She walked over to wipe away my tears, but I pushed her away.

"Don't," I said as I turned away from her. I walked away from her and wiped away the tears myself.

"Do you know how many times I've had to explain this to people?" I asked as I turned around to face her. The wiping away of my tears before was pointless, because a few more came to my eyes. I hated that I was this emotional. "Do you even _know_?" I asked again.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I—"

"No, Mom, listen to me. I'm sick and tired of everyone questioning my and Edward's relationship. I've had to endure _everyone_ that I know asking me the same question that you did. _Everyone_ at school looking at me with disbelief because I took him back, because _everyone_ knows what he did to me. Everyone. And I'm SICK and TIRED of it!" I yelled the last sentence.

I looked over at Renee. She looked shocked at my outburst. I saw that some of her makeup was smeared too. But, surprisingly, I wasn't sorry. Well, I guess I was a little, but mostly I was so mad that she had even brought the whole thing up.

"Look, Mom. I'm sorry. But it's just...I hate having this conversation with everyone. No one thinks that Edward and I should be together. No one, except his family, actually supports our relationship." And that's because only his family actually knows all the details of our relationship...

"Bella, I'm so sorry. I should've known that you didn't want to talk about it. I know you don't want to hear this, but I just...um...after what he did to you, I'm just not so sure that he's good enough for you..." Renee finally said.

I took a deep breath to keep me from exploding at her again.

"Mom, there is no one better than Edward. No one could make me happier than he does. He is my other half, my perfect match, and I...I...I love him with all my heart."

Renee gasped at the word love. "But, Bella, I thought you said last year that it was just a crush..."

"Well, Mom, a lot has happened since last year..." Our wonderful summer together, him leaving, me going all the way to Italy to save him, him asking me to marry him...

"Well, Bella, if you truly lo...lo...love...him, then, I guess, um..." I could tell that she didn't exactly know what to say.

"I get what you mean. Thanks, Mom, that means a lot to me." I walked over to her and we shared a big mother-daughter hug. Just then, the phone rang.

"I'll be right back, Mom," I said as I went to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Bella, it's me." Of course it was, I would recognize his voice anywhere. But, why was he calling me on the phone? Usually he just materialized in the kitchen. Oh, ya, because Renee was here.

"Oh, hey, Edward," I replied.

"Hey, is it ok if I come over there? I have to talk to Renee about something."

"Oh, um, sure. But, uh, why do you have to ask?"

"Because it might be a bit weird if I just showed up at your door. Renee might get a little scared..."

"Oh, right. Ya, well, I'll see you then."

"Alright. Bye." I hung up the phone, and then walked back into the living room.

"Edward is going to come over here, he said he wants to ask you something," I said to Renee.

"Oh, ok. When is he coming?" she asked.

"Right now, I think," I replied. Right on cue, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," I said. Then Edward walked through the door.

"Hello again, Bella," he said. Then, seeing my makeup smeared, he rushed over to me. "Bella, what happened?" he asked.

"Oh, it was nothing. I'm fine," I said to him. Then I whispered, "I'll tell you later," quiet enough so Renee couldn't hear me, but I still knew he would hear.

"Well, Renee, there is something I would like to talk to you about. Bella, I would prefer if you didn't hear this conversation, so if you could leave..." he said.

Stupid secrets. Now Renee was going to be in on the thing that Edward, Alice, and Charlie already knew about.

"Fine," I huffed. Just then, Alice danced into the house, followed by Carlisle and Esme. "Oh, um, hey Alice, Carlisle, and Esme," I said.

"Hey Bella," Alice said as she glided over and kissed my cheek.

"Um, everyone, this is my mom," I said, gesturing to Renee.

"Renee," she said as she reached to shake Carlisle's and Esme's hands. Carlisle and Esme introduced themselves.

"And, Mom, this is Alice, my best friend here in Forks, who also happens to be Edward's sister," I said.

"Oh, so this is Alice. Nice to finally meet you," Renee said.

"You as well, Mrs. Swan," Alice said.

"'Renee' is just fine."

I looked around at everyone and they seemed to be looking for someone too.

"Um, Charlie doesn't get off work until 6:30," I said, realizing that he was who they were looking for.

"Oh, yes, alright. Well, we can just talk with Renee then," said Carlisle.

"Come on, Bella, lets go up to your room," Alice said as she dragged me upstairs, leaving Edward, Carlisle, and Esme to talk to Renee.

"Alice, what is going on?" I asked her as we entered my room.

"Oh, really, its nothing. Now come on, Bella, lets find something for you to wear tonight!" Alice replied as she threw open my closet door. She gasped as she opened the doors, and pulled out a dress. It was a simple, black dress that went down to my knees, and had black flower designs at the bottom that were barley visible. **(pic on my profile)**

"Bella, I had totally forgotten I had bought you this! You _have_ to wear it tonight!" she said. I sighed and agreed. Alice smiled and looked through my closet for a pair of shoes that would go with it, and then pulled out the heels that I had forgotten about until Alice showed them to me.

They were black with a small heel, and I was pretty sure that I would be able to walk in them. Alice raised her eyebrows questioningly and I nodded. She put the shoes next to the dress.

"Alice, why do I have to get this dressed up if we're only going to that restaurant in Port Angeles?" I asked. Alice shook her head.

"I'm not allowed to tell you anything. Sorry, Bella, but Edward would kill me." I sighed. "Now, come on, Bella, we only have a few hours to get you ready! Hurry hurry hurry!" She began to push me into my bathroom when I heard Renee let out a shriek of happiness.

I was going to run downstairs and ask what happened, but Alice held me back. "Come on, Bella, you have to take a shower and then I have to do your hair and makeup and find some jewelry and..." I walked into the bathroom and closed the door on her face. I heard her laugh from the other side. "Just tell me when your done, and then I'll come in there and help you!" she called through the door.

This was going to be a long 2 hours.

**Yay for me! I wrote a 7 page chapter! Hehehe! **

**If you don't know what an aquanaut is (from the disclaimer) then you can just look it up because I don't feel like telling you.**

**Alright well the next chapter will be out in 1-4 days, like always.**

**Please review!**

**-danielle-**


	19. dinner with renee

**Hey-llooooooooo. **

**disclaimer: **

**reality: --_to the tune of mary had a little lamb—_you will never own twilight. Own twilight. Own twilight. You will never own twilight so ha ha ha ha he. **

**Me: you are a HORRIBLE singer, you know that. **

**Reality: I don't care. Because...­--_sings again--_ you will never own twilight. Own twilight. Own twilight. You will never own twilight so ha ha ha ha he. **

**Me: --_runs away_—**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 19**

_"Come on, Bella, you have to take a shower and then I have to do your hair and makeup and find some jewelry and..." I walked into the bathroom and closed the door on her face. I heard her laugh from the other side. "Just tell me when your done, and then I'll come in there and help you!" she called through the door. _

_This was going to be a long 2 hours. _

After I was poked and prodded by Alice with multiple makeup items (for the second day in a row!) for an hour and a half, I was finally released.

"Come on, Bella! We have to get your dress on!" Alice said as she dragged me into my room. She carefully slipped the dress on over my head (so as not to ruin my makeup or hair.) Then she reached for the shoes and put them on me. **(The shoes pic is on my profile too)**

"Alright, Bella, time to go downstairs and show the man of your dreams how beautiful you are," Alice announced. I giggled and nodded. I took one step, and then tripped.

Luckily, Alice was there to catch me. "Bella, you really need to learn how to walk in heels," she said.

"Alright, enough about my flaws, lets just go downstairs and see Edward," I said. I cautiously took another step, and I didn't fall. Then I walked out of my room and was about to walk downstairs, but Alice stopped me.

"Edward, turn around and don't look," she said. He turned around and then I proceeded to walk downstairs.

"Alright, you can look now," said Alice as I reached the floor. Edward turned around and gasped. He walked over to me, starring in disbelief. I blushed.

" Alice, you are incredible. First, at prom, I didn't think you could make her any more beautiful. Then yesterday, you make her beautiful again. Then today, wow."

I didn't think I could blush any redder that before, but I did.

"Isabella Marie Swan, you are the most exquisite creature to ever walk this earth," Edward said.

Wow, I could even blush redder than before? I probably looked like a tomato...

Edward, seeing me blush, chuckled. Just then, I saw Renee walk downstairs.

She was beautiful. Her dress was the same length as mine, but it was bright red instead of black, and it had spaghetti straps.

Edward whistled, and I giggled. He glanced at me and gave me a look that said "hey, I want to get on her good side."

"Wow, Renee, you look great!" Alice said as Renee walked into the living room with us.

"Ya, Mom, you look awesome!" I said. Edward looked back and forth from Renee to me and then grinned.

"I am the luckiest man in the world to have these two lovely ladies for dates," he said. Renee and I giggled. "Ladies, shall we?" Edward asked as he stuck out his arms. We both linked our arms in his, and then Alice grabbed a camera out of her purse.

"Wait! I need a picture of this!" she said as she clicked the camera. Then Edward steered us out of the house and into his car.

But it wasn't the Volvo. It was what I knew as Edward's "special occasion car," the one he had taken me to prom in. An Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.

I sat in the back, and Renee rode in the passenger seat next to Edward. I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, even though she was my mother. And she was married. And over 40 years old. Then again, technically, Edward was 110...

We arrived at Port Angeles 30 minutes later (Edward had kept his driving to a normal speed) expected Edward to stop at the restaurant, but he drove right past it.

"Edward! You missed the restaurant!" I said. He chuckled.

"I decided to get reservations at a nicer restaurant, where we're sure that no one that we know will be at," he said. 10 minutes later, he pulled the car to a stop. Edward ran around to open my door, and a valet parking man opened Renee's. Edward handed a tip to the man, and he got in the Edward's car to go park it. Edward held out his arms again, and then steered us into the restaurant.

"Cullen," he said to the hostess. She looked up from the podium that she was standing behind, and did a double take when she saw Edward.

"Oh...um...what?" she said, clearly dazzled by him.

"Cullen," he said, slower this time. She smiled at him, and then looked down at her papers. "Oh, yes," she said as she looked up again. She looked like she just then noticed my mom and I, and then she seemed to get a bit less friendly, "Martin will show you to your table."

A man with a nametag that said "Martin" gestured to us to follow him. He directed us to a table in the back of the restaurant, and then handed us our menus.

"Someone will be right out to take your drink orders," he said with a heavy French accent.

"Thank you," Edward said as Martin left. I looked around at the restaurant, and saw that the name of it was Beau Nourriture. I wondered what that meant in French.

"'Beau Nourriture' means 'Beautiful Food' in French. Not a very original name," Edward said with a frown. I guessed that Renee must've been thinking the same thing, and Edward had answered her thoughts.

A girl with unnatural blonde hair and a nametag that said "Adélaïde" walked up to us.

"Do you know what you are liking to drink?" she asked, in a heavy French accent as well.

"I'll have a red wine," Renee said.

"Um, I'll just have a Coke," I said. She turned to Edward, and gave him a warm smile. To warm for my likes.

"Just water for me," he said, grinning back at Adélaïde. She looked like she was going to faint.

"Um, I'm sorry. What would you like?" she asked. I looked over at Renee who looked at me; both of us had raised eyebrows. We made eye contact and both giggled.

"Water is fine," he said again. Adélaïde smiled at him again and then walked away.

"Edward!" I said to him.

"What?" he asked.

"You know what. You shouldn't go dazzling people like that! She's probably back there right now freaking out! And then she's going to come back here and faint when she looks at you again!" Edward was laughing.

"Sorry. I didn't even notice I was doing it. I was just being friendly."

"Theres a difference between 'friendly' and 'flirtatious'. That was _definitely_ flirtatious. Now, don't do that again!" I said. He roared with laughter.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Just then, Adélaïde returned with our drinks.

"Here are your drinks," she said as she fluffed her hair and batted her eyelashes at Edward.

"Thank you," he replied, but he didn't look at Adélaïde. He was starring at me the whole time.

"Is do you know what you are liking for your dinner?" she asked.

"I think we need a few more minutes," Edward replied, still not taking his eyes off of me. Adélaïde looked at me with angry eyes, and then turned back to Edward.

"Well, Monsieur, I will be back in a few minutes," she said, attempting for the last time to get Edward's attention back. When she failed, she turned on her heel and stormed back to the kitchen.

Renee and I laughed, and Edward looked at us questioningly. "What did she do?" he asked. Neither of us could answer because we were laughing so hard.

We all picked up our menus and looked for what we would like to eat. Something caught my attention; Zucchini Soup with Pasta. I liked zucchini, and I liked pasta. I would give it a try.

I looked at how much it cost, and gasped. Everything on the menu was incredibly expensive.

"Edward, do you see how expensive everything is?" I asked him. He waved his hand as if to say "oh, whatever."

"Bella, its fine," he said.

"Edward, I can't let you pay for all this!" I said.

"Bella, this is my treat. You know we can afford it without a problem. Just let me pay for it." I sighed in defeat and nodded.

Adélaïde came back a few minutes later and took our orders. She saw Edward's and mine hands intertwined under the table, and then she finally put two and two together. But she still attempted to flirt with Edward. Of course, he paid her no attention.

When we were almost finished with our dinners, a band came onto a stage at the front of the restaurant and began to play. Edward stood up to my mother and took her hand. "Would you like to dance, Renee?" he asked her. She blushed and nodded.

As Edward effortlessly twirled Renee around the dance floor, I couldn't help but feel jealous again. Yes, it was my mother, and yes, I hate dancing, but that was my Edward. I wanted him all to myself.

As the band finished the first song and began to play the second, Edward walked over to me and asked me to dance. I accepted right away, and Edward was surprised. Then he seemed to understand why I accepted so soon, and he grinned.

He used the same technique from prom of me standing on his feet, since he and I both knew that if I were to attempt to dance that I would probably break my neck. As Edward and I danced together, he seemed distant, and nervous about something.

"Edward, whats wrong?" I asked him. He seemed to zone out of his own world and looked at me.

"What? W...what do you mean?" he stuttered. Theres that stuttering again.

"You seem sort of...distant..." I replied.

"Oh...well...um...I don't know what you mean..." he said. He sounded very nervous about something, and I didn't know what. "It's ok, Bella. Everything is ok. Just...just don't worry," he said. **(its funny because right now I feel just as nervous as Edward does because I REALLY get into my stories...) **

As the song ended, Edward and I sat back down. "I'll be right back, Bella," he said. He walked up to the hostess desk and looked like he was asking her a question. She said something back to him, and then walked back to the kitchens. She came back out a minute later and said something else, to which Edward nodded his head. Then Edward walked over to the stage where the band was taking a break, and said something to them. Then he walked onstage and sat down at the piano.

I gasped. He was going to play the piano, in front of all these people. He began to play, and I could feel tears coming to my eyes. It was a song that I would know anywhere, even if it was 50 years from now. Even if I was asleep. Even if I was dead, I would probably do some sort of response to hearing it.

My lullaby. Edward was playing my lullaby.

Now the tears were streaming openly down my face. Renee looked over at me. "You know this song?" she asked me. I nodded.

"He...wr...wrote it...for...for me," I said. It was very hard for me to talk because I was crying. I looked back at Renee, and I could see tears forming in her eyes as well.

I looked back at Edward, and I could see so much emotion on his face. He looked up from the piano and looked at me. He saw the tears falling down my face and smiled slightly at me. I smiled back.

When the song finished, everyone began to cheer. He stood up to take a bow. When everyone stopped clapping, he reached for the microphone that the band had been using earlier. I looked over at Renee with a questioning look, and she inclined her head as if to say "just watch."

"That is a song that I wrote myself. It was inspired by that beautiful lady over there," he pointed to me, "Isabella Swan. My girlfriend. But she is so much more than that. She is the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with. I'm sure that most of you don't think it's possible to find your soul mate at age 18, but it is possible. I have found mine. Bella," turned to look at me, "Bella, you are the love of my life. You are my life, my happiness, and my light. You are the most important person in my life. Without you, my life would have no meaning."

I was crying so hard now, it was hard to even see Edward through my tears. Then it hit me. Everything that had happened in the past few days started to add up. I realized what the plan was. I realized what Alice must've seen, why Charlie knew about it, and why Edward had insisted that Renee come to visit. Why Edward had been so nervous tonight. It all clicked into place.

Edward got off the stage and walked back to the table where I was sitting. He reached in the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small, red box.

I put my hand over my mouth. When he reached me, he slowly got down on one knee.

"Isabella Marie Swan," he said. He opened the small box and I saw the most beautiful ring in the world inside it. It had three stones, the one in the middle was topaz, just like his eyes, and the ones on the sides were diamonds. I gasped, and I heard Renee gasp too.

"Isabella Marie Swan," he said again, "will you marry me?"

I couldn't say anything. No noise would come out of my mouth. All I could do was cry, and then I began to laugh a little. I smiled and nodded.

"Yes," I managed to get out. He smiled the biggest smile I've ever seen, and the slipped the ring on my finger.

Then he stood up and picked me up off my chair. And he kissed me, long and hard, in front off all those people. I heard Renee squeal with glee, and when we broke apart I saw Adélaïde standing in kitchen doorway, so angry she could probably break something.

Just then I heard all the people in the restaurant cheering. I began to laugh, and I was crying at the same time. Edward grinned and kissed me again. Then he wiped my tears away, but they were replaced with new ones.

"Isabella, you have just made me the happiest man in the world," he said. "I wasn't sure if you would say yes."

"How could I not! In front of all these people, and those were the most beautiful words I've ever heard. And then you played my lullaby, Edward, that was the most wonderful thing I'll probably ever experience."

"I love you so much, Bella," he said.

"I love you too," I said. Then he leaned down to kiss me again.

* * *

**I have one thing to say---EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! **

**Ok. So throughout the whole second part of this chapter I was literally shaking because I was so nervous, and crying at the part when Bella was. And I'm the author! I've been planning this since like...3 weeks ago. I've written and re-written the words Edward says over 20 times. And still, I was crying during it. **

**Im sorry if you didn't want them to get married. I just thought it was so perfect...i couldn't resist. Oh, and for those of you who are all "wtf? Why isn't Renee pissed off?" its because Edward asked her permission to marry Bella first. She was totally pissed off then, but now she's ok. **

**Please review! **

**-danielle- **

**p.s. Picture of the ring on my profile!**

**p.p.s. yes, that does seem like a good stopping point, but the story isn't over yet!!!!!! theres still A LOT more to go!**


	20. was this really what i wanted?

**Omg everyone. I'm SO SORRY I haven't gotten a chapter out in a week! This week has been so hectic! I haven't had time to do anything...just...i don't remember what I've been doing that makes me so busy...—_thinks—_ ya...i don't know...Whatever. who cares. I've been busy. That's all there is to it. Anyway... **

**The last chapter was awesome...wasn't it!! Weee...their ENGAGED! Yay!!! **

**Disclaimer: **

**Me: omg Bella and Edward are ENGAGED! **

**Reality: um...no...their actually not... **

**Me: um...ya they really are... **

**Reality: um...no...not really... **

**Me: why not?! **

**Reality: because this is a _fanfiction_, not the real story. They would be if you _actually_ owned twilight, but you don't... **

**Me: well...um...i...THIS IS WHY NO ONE LIKES YOU! **

**Chapter 20 **

_

* * *

"I love you so much, Bella," he said. _

_"I love you too," I said. Then he leaned down to kiss me again. _

Edward led me back to the table, where Renee was sitting with tears in her eyes. She wiped away her tears and smiled at me.

"Oh...honey...I'm so happy for you!" she said as she reached up to hug me.

"Mom, did you know about all this?" I asked. She nodded in reply.

"Edward asked Charlie and my permission to marry you," she said. I looked over at Edward, and he smiled. He had asked their permission. This, again, proved the point that I didn't deserve him. He was such a gentleman.

Renee reached for my hand and looked at my ring. "Oh, Edward, this ring is beautiful!" she said.

"It belonged to Esme's mother. When Esme's mother died, the ring was left in her possession, and Esme wanted me to have it," Edward replied. I looked at the ring, and then held it up next to his face.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"The ring, it's the exact same color as your eyes..." I said. He nodded.

"That's how I knew it was perfect," he said. I grinned.

"It's absolutely perfect," I replied, grinning back. Edward and I both sat down at the table, and then Adélaïde walked up to us, looking furious.

"Would you like to order dessert this evening?" she asked in an angry voice. I saw Edward stifle a laugh, but then he composed himself.

"Would we like desserts?" he asked Renee and me.

"No, thank you," said Renee. I nodded in agreement, and Edward looked at Adélaïde to tell her, but she was already gone. We all burst out laughing.

"That waitress has some serious problems..." I muttered. Edward and Renee laughed again.

Adélaïde came back a second later and handed Edward the check. I tried to get a peek at the total price, but Edward didn't let me see it. I think I saw him put a hundred dollar bill, if not 2 of them, into the bill-book thing, but I couldn't be sure. But I'm sure I did hear him say "keep the change" to Adélaïde. Then he took my hand and we all stood up to leave the restaurant.

Renee offered to sit in the back of the car on the way back so Edward and I could be together. Edward held my hand the whole way back, and both of us kept glancing down at my ring. Whenever I saw it, I got chills. I was actually going to marry Edward.

But was this what I really wanted? Not even 2 months ago he had proposed for the first time. And I had turned him down. What had changed?

Well, this time he proposed in an incredibly romantic way. And he had planned the whole thing; he didn't just propose to me on a whim. And he also proposed in front of a lot of people. Did I say yes only because I knew I _should_ say yes, and not because it was what I wanted? I hoped not...

Was it what I wanted? Did I really want to marry Edward? Yes, I did. I was going to be with him forever because I was going to be a vampire. I might as well be married to him. But, if it was what I really wanted, then why didn't I say yes the first time?

My excuse had been that Renee and Charlie wouldn't approve. And that actually was part of it. Now that I knew that Renee and Charlie were semi-okay with the whole thing, it was easier to say yes. But, what was the other reason for me saying no the first time?

I was scared. When I really thought about it, that was the reason I turned him down. I was scared. I was afraid of the commitment. Afraid that, even though I had much evidence to the contrary, he really didn't want me. I knew that I wasn't good enough for him, and I was still afraid that he would leave me again. Afraid that in a few years, he would be gone, and I would be all alone.

I knew I shouldn't think that anymore. I knew that he wasn't going to leave me. He had promised me he wouldn't leave.

But, he had promised he would never leave before, too. And he had broken his promise. He had left.

"We're here." My thoughts were interrupted by Edward telling me that he had arrived back at Charlie's house. Renee got out of the car first, but Edward kept a firm hold on my hand and I could tell that he wanted me to stay in the car so he could talk to me.

I heard the front door close that meant Renee was inside. I looked up from where I had been staring at my hand, and saw Edward looking at me. And there was something in his expression that made my heart sink.

He could tell what I had been thinking about.

He released my hand and opened his car door. In a second, he was opening my door for me. I stepped out of the car, but instead of going inside, Edward lead me to the woods. We walked a little ways in, and then sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree.

Neither of us said anything for a while. I was looking around the forest, and when I looked back at Edward, he was staring at the ground. I put my hands on either side of his face and moved his head so I could see his eyes. They looked sad. Very sad.

"Edward..." I began, but he put a finger to my lips to stop me. He moved his finger away, and then folded his hands together and put them in his lap. He broke the trance we had been in, and looked down at the forest floor again. After a few minutes, he looked back up at me.

"Bella...do you love me?" he asked quietly.

"What kind of a question is—"

"Answer the question, please," he cut me off.

"Of course I do," I replied, shocked that he even had to ask.

"Do you want me to change you into a vampire?" he asked.

I was shocked at the bluntness of the question, but I recovered quickly. "Yes," I replied.

"And you want to be with me forever, even if it means turning your back against humanity, even if it means hurting your family, even if it means you have to go through tremendous pain and suffering?"

"Yes."

Throughout all these questions, he had been looking at the ground. But after the last question, he looked up and looked into my eyes. I waited for him to say something else, but he didn't.

"Edward..." I started again, but I stopped because he looked back at the ground. After a long time of only being able to hear the faint sounds of crickets, he spoke again.

"Do you want to marry me?" he asked. He looked up to meet my eyes, but I looked away.

Did I want to marry him? Is that what I really wanted?

"I..." I started, but didn't know what to say. Then I looked up at the sky, and realized that I couldn't see a moon. All I could see were stars.

It was a new moon.

A new moon. Darkness. No light whatsoever.

But a new moon was also a time of new beginnings. The start of something new. The start of something different.

Something new.

I looked down from the black sky and met Edward's eyes. I opened my mouth to say something, but then stopped. I thought I had made up my mind, but realized that I hadn't.

"Bella...?" he asked. I looked away from him, and felt tears forming in my eyes.

Why was I crying? Why did I have to be so emotional?! Why couldn't make up my mind?!?

"Bella..." he said again. I didn't look at him. "Bella, I don't want to force you into a decision, and I don't want to make you do something that you don't want to, but I do want you to say yes. I am very selfish, and I right now what I want is you."

He wanted me. He wasn't going to leave me. He was going to be with me forever. I just needed to keep telling myself that.

"Bella, you said you love me. You said you want to be with me forever. If both of those things are true, then why is it so hard for you to decide if you want to marry me?"

He had a point. Marriage was a lot less of a commitment than changing into a vampire. Then why was it so hard for me to make up my mind about this?

I looked down at my ring again, and then back up at the sky. Then suddenly, everything got brighter.

The moon came out from behind a cloud.

It was full.

It wasn't really a new moon. It wasn't a time of dark. It was a time of light. A time of light and happiness.

Happiness. But what was happiness. What really would make me happy? Would marrying Edward make me happy, or would it just hurt me because I would hurt my family?

I took a deep breath and turned to face Edward.

"Edward...I..."

* * *

**Hahaha! Cliffy! I bet you all hate me now! Well...that's just to frickin bad for you! Lol!!!**

**O so guess what. I'm in DI (destination imagination...idk if anyone has heard of it...) and our team is got 1st place at regionals, 3rd at state, and now were going to globals!! Its in Tennessee, so our entire team gets to miss 3 days of school and drive from Minnesota to Tennessee! Its gonna be frickin awesome! **

**Woah snap! Go us! **

**Ya well...next chapter out later. **

**Please please PLEASE review! **

**----danielle---- **


	21. my answer is

**Wow! In just 3 chapters, I went from having 200 reviews to more than 300 reviews! That's amazing! A-MA-ZING! **

**I'm sure most of you are like "well...duh...of course she's gonna say that she wants to marry him!" but truthfully...i really have no idea what her answer is gonna be. At first I was like "duh she's gonna say yes!" too but then I thought about it and im like "well...would she really say yes...?" so...ya. **

**Anyway...on with the chapter! **

**Disclaimer: **

**My teacher: ok everyone, starting tomorrow we're going to do book reports. You all can pick whatever book you want... **

**Me: ­--_thinking—omg! I'll totally do twilight or new moon! _**

****

**My teacher: ...just, no one can do twilight or new moon. **

**Me: WHAT?!?!?! **

**My teacher: Anna, you are way too obsessed with that book. You write stuff about it every day. It seems like you think you own it and what you write will actually be the next book. I'm sorry, but I don't want you to get any more obsessed with it than you already are. **

**Me: I KNOW I DON'T OWN IT! JUST PLEASE LET ME DO IT FOR THE BOOK REPORT!! **

**My teacher: nope. **

**Me: --_under my breath—_you suck... **

**Chapter 21 **

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_

* * *

I took a deep breath and turned to face Edward._

_"Edward...I..." _

"Yes...?" he prompted after I paused. I looked down at the beautiful ring on my hand. I reached down, and began to take it off my finger.

"What the HELL do you think your doing?"

"Oh!" I said as I fell off the log in surprise.

The voice that I had heard was not Edward. That was what surprised me the most, not the fact that someone had just yelled. The scariest thing was that I didn't hear Edward's voice. And this was so weird because, in the many times this had happened, I had only ever heard Edward speaking to me.

I had heard a voice in my head, much like Edward's voice that I had heard when he left. But it wasn't Edward's voice. It was a voice I'd never heard before. I don't even think it was anyone I knew. Just...a voice...

Like my conscience. A voice that was trying to tell me right and wrong. What to do and what not to do.

"Why the _hell_ would you even _think_ about taking that ring off your finger?!" the voiced asked angrily.

"I...don't...know..." I answered it quietly.

"What?" Edward asked. I looked up at him. He was looking down at me strangely, and then I realized I was still sitting on the ground. Edward offered me his hand and helped me up so I was sitting on the log again.

I hardly even noticed him helping me up. I was still listening to my conscience yelling at me.

"You take your hand off that ring right now! This is the man of your dreams! The man you love! You are going to be with him for all your life anyway! Just leave the fricken ring on your fricken finger! Don't even think about it. Don't even _think_ about it."

"But...I..." I protested to myself. I didn't notice Edward looking at me like I was crazy.

"Bella, shut the hell up and listen to me. You love Edward. You love him with all your heart. Right...?"

"Right..." I answered. Wow, my conscience had language problems...

Edward started to say something to me, but I didn't hear him. I was too enthralled by the voice.

"And you are going to be with him forever because you are going to be a vampire. So, you might as well marry him. Why wouldn't you marry him?"

"I...don't...know..." I murmured.

"You idiot. Marry him! Marry him! You know you want to!" my conscience yelled at me.

I looked back at my hand, where the ring was almost all the way off my finger. I looked up at Edward, who was looking at me like I was crazy. I look up at the full moon. And then I down at the ground, and saw a puddle of water left over from a recent rainfall.

I could see my reflection in the small pool of water. I looked beautiful, the makeup that Alice had put on me was still intact, although it looked like a lot of it had rubbed off from my crying. My hair was still beautiful, pulled back into a loose bun, but with small curled pieces of my dark brown hair hanging out. But as beautiful as I looked, something looked off.

I looked...sad. Sad and confused. I thought about what it would be like if I turned Edward down, and then my face seemed to look even sadder, even though I was sure I didn't change my expression at all. But then I thought about what it would be like if I actually did marry Edward. I imagined what our wedding could be like; I imagined a honeymoon off in some distant, romantic place. When I thought about that, I saw my face brighten and my eyes light up.

There was my answer.

"Yes, Edward, I do want to marry you," I said slowly.

"That's my girl..." my conscience said before I could feel it slipping back into the way back of my mind.

Edward looked down from the sky where he had been looking earlier before I said anything. He looked very happy, and I smiled at him.

"Thank you Bella. Thank you," he said as he reached out and put his arm around me. I leaned my head on his shoulder and he began to hum my lullaby.

After sitting there for a few minutes, he suddenly stood up and had a look on his face like he had just remembered something.

"We better get inside, Bella. I'm sure Charlie wants to say something to you," he said as he wrapped his arm around my waist and led me out of the woods. We walked through the front door of my house, and I think I probably jumped three feet.

There were _tons_ of people in my living room. When I looked around, I could see the whole Cullen family (including Rosalie, who looked like she would much rather not be here) and Renee and Charlie.

Alice ran up to me and gave me a huge hug. She whispered in my ear, "I had a vision of you and Edward talking in the forest, and I never saw what your answer was. I'm hoping you said yes..." she said. I nodded to say that, yes, I did say yes, and she squealed with glee. "Oh, Bella, I'm so happy for you guys!" she said as she hugged me again.

Then Alice flitted over to Edward and I could tell she was telling him something through her thoughts. Probably something about the conversation she saw happening in the forest. Then she hugged Edward and squealed again, and then left to go talk to Carlisle.

After Alice left, Charlie and Renee walked over to me. Charlie did something I didn't expect him to do.

He hugged me. And when he broke away I saw that tears were beginning to form in his eyes.

"Dad..." I said compassionately as I reached out to hug him again.

"My baby girl is growing up," he whispered to me. I held back tears too, and hugged him tighter.

I had never had a moment like this with my father before. A wonderful, father-daughter moment. But now that we did, I realized how much my father really meant to me.

As Charlie and I broke away, I saw Jasper looking at me. He smiled, and I knew that he could feel so many feelings from me right now. Love for Edward, extreme happiness, surprise, and the intense love for my father. I smiled back at him, and he nodded.

Charlie wiped away his tears and composed himself. "So, Dad, you know about all of this?" I asked him. He nodded.

"I'm sure your mother already told you, but Edward came to us and asked our permission first." I nodded to say that, yes, I did know that. Charlie looked like he wanted to tell me something, and Renee, getting the hint, steered Edward away from us so Charlie and I could talk on our own.

"Bella..." he said, "I know I haven't been exactly, the most enthusiastic about your and Edward's relationship in the past. But I just want to let you know that, well, I guess I sort of...well...I..."

"Thanks, Dad," I said, understanding what he meant. I reached out to hug him again, and he stood awkwardly and then patted me on the back. "What changed your mind about Edward, Dad?" I asked him.

Charlie looked thoughtful for a second, and then replied. "I think it was the fact that he actually asked my permission to marry you. The words that he said when he asked me, they made me see how much he loves you. He really is a great boy, or, man, I guess. I still think you are a bit too young to get married, and I don't fully approve of it, but if you want to marry someone, he is the person. He's a good man, Bella."

Hearing Charlie say those words made me happier than I had been since...well...since an hour ago when Edward proposed...

"Thanks, again, Dad," I said.

Edward walked back over to me after Charlie walked away to talk to Carlisle again. He smiled at me, and I knew that he had been listening.

"He actually does approve, you know. He just doesn't want to see you grow up, but he really does approve. And so does you mother. I don't see why you thought she would be so disappointed in you if you did get married," he said.

"I was actually very surprised that she was this ok with it. I expected her to get all mad and insist that I go back to Jacksonville with her," I replied.

"Oh, she was thinking about doing that, actually, but then she realized that I really love you, and that I wouldn't hurt you in any way. I think her exact thoughts were 'I should just let her marry him, if it's what she really wants. She is 18 now! And besides, he seems like a nice boy, and I know he'll keep her safe. It's not like he bites or anything!' I laughed out loud when she thought it, actually..."

I started laughing too, and then Edward led me over to where Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were all talking. As I approached, they all stopped talking, and turned to grin at us. Well, all of them except Rosalie. She just scowled at us. Or, me, I guess.

"Congrats, you guys!" Jasper said joyfully. Emmett pulled me into a big bear hug.

"You're gonna be my little sister!" he said.

"Emmett!...can't... brea... brea...breathe!" I choked out. Emmett let go of me and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, little sis," he said as he playfully punched my arm. Luckily, he remembered he had to be gentle with me, because he didn't punch me hard at all. I knew that if he actually released his full strength on me, my arm would probably break in half.

Alice glided over to me and hugged me again. "Oh, Bella, we have so much planning to do! Do you guys have a date yet? Oh, I know a perfect place to have the wedding," she lowered her voice slightly, "I saw it, of course," and then she started to talk normally again. Well, as normal as she could be when talking about shopping, "And we'll have to go shopping for your dress, and then pick out bridesmaid's dresses, of course! Oh, who is going to be your maid of honor? She must have an even more beautiful dress! And we'll have to find you some perfect shoes! And then we need to plan the reception, and pick out your flowers, and your cake, and—"

" Alice, breathe," Emmett said as she cut her off.

"Not like you actually have to..." I muttered. They all heard me, and roared with laughter.

"Good point, little sis," Emmett said between laughs. I smiled.

I couldn't wait to be part of this family.

"So, back to the first and most important question," Alice said, "have you set a date for the wedding yet?"

I looked over at Edward. "Well, I was thinking we should have it the weekend before graduation," he said carefully, looking at my reaction.

"That soon!?" I said in surprise.

"Well, I figured you would like to have it before you're changed, so then your family will be able to attend," he said, quiet enough so Charlie and Renee wouldn't hear in talking about changing me.

"Oh..." I said. "Well, that seems like a good idea," I said.

"Ok, well," Alice said as she took out her cell phone and looked at the calendar, "the weekend before graduation is June 2nd and 3rd," she said.

"That's less than a month away," Jasper noted.

"Oh, then we better get planning right away!" said Alice as she began to talk about the wedding again.

All of us walked away from her, and she didn't even notice because she was so caught up in her plans for the wedding.

"Hey! Get back here!" she said a minute later, as she realized we had left. We all started laughing, even Rosalie joined in.

Man I loved this family!

"Everyone, please have a seat over here please," Carlisle's voice boomed over our laughter. We all fell silent and walked over to the couch. I sat next to Edward on the couch, and we shared the couch with Alice and Jasper. Emmett and Rosalie stood next to the TV, and Carlisle and Esme stood together on the other side of the TV. Charlie sat in the chair, and Renee stood next to me, beside the couch.

"First off, I would like to say 'congratulations' to Edward and Bella," Carlisle said. Edward and I smiled up at him, and as I looked around at everyone, I could see that they were all smiling down at us as well.

"I hope that the wedding goes well for you, and I would like you to both know that you have my blessing," Carlisle continued in a very formal tone.

"Mine as well," Esme said with a warm smile. I smiled back at her, and I knew that if she would've been human, she would've been crying. Esme was a very emotional person, and I knew that she always wanted what was best for her children. She would be very happy to finally see Edward at the altar with someone he loved so much.

It was amazing to remember that the person that he loved was me.

"Yes, you also have my blessing," said Charlie with a half-hearted smile.

"And mine!" said Renee excitedly. I suppressed a laugh. Well, at least one of my parents approved of this completely.

"Thank you all, so very much," said Edward, speaking for the both of us.

"Well, everyone," said Carlisle, "I'm sure that Bella's parents would like to have some alone time with her. We better leave anyway, its getting rather late." With that, Carlisle stood up, and the rest of his family did the same. On the way out, they all muttered some sort of "congratulations" to Edward and I, and Alice left with her typical kiss on the cheek. After they all left, Edward kissed me good-bye, and left after his family.

The front door closed, and Renee sat down on the couch. I went and sat next to her, waiting for the questions to start.

"Bella...do you really want to do this?" was the first question that was asked. It came from Charlie. "I told you that I approve of you and Edward together, which I do, just, I'm not entirely sure you're making the right decision here," he said.

"Yes, Dad, I'm sure. I love Edward. I love him with all my heart, and I want to marry him."

"But, Bella, honey, you're so young..." That was Renee.

"Mom, I know. I know you don't think Edward and I will work out; that we won't stay together. But we will. He is the love of my life, and I want to be with him forever," I replied.

"Hun, I'm not so sure you really know what true love is at your age," Renee said.

"You said that you did," I contradicted, beginning to get angry. "You said that you two," I turned to look at Charlie and Renee, "were madly in love, and you were the same age as me."

"Yes, but your mother and I didn't last. That's what we mean, Bells. Marriages between younger couples tend to not last as long than marriages that begin when the people are a little older," Charlie said.

"Just because you two crashed and burned doesn't mean that Edward and I will!" I practically yelled, incredibly angry now. I turned on my heel and stormed upstairs into my room. But before I looked away from Charlie and Renee, I could see the stunned look on their faces, and the surprise that they had from my outburst.

Edward was in my room when I arrived up there. I tried to smile at him, but I'm sure it probably looked more like I had eaten something gross. I walked over to the rocking chair, sat down on Edward's lap, and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Isabella Marie Cullen, what would you do without me?" he said, chucking.

I lifted my head off his shoulder and grinned up at him. "I'd probably be...wait...what did you say?" I asked.

"Isabella Marie Swan, what you do without me...?" he said. It sounded like a question.

"No, you didn't," I said.

"Yes...I did..." he said.

"No. You said 'Isabella Marie _Cullen_,' not Swan," I said.

Edward thought for a moment, and then grinned. "I guess I did. I didn't even notice the difference. It just sounds so right. Isabella Marie Cullen."

"Mrs. Edward Anthony Masen Cullen," I said with a grin. Edward chuckled and pulled my head back so it was resting on his shoulder again. He kissed the top of my head, and began to rock back and forth in the chair.

"Bella..." he said.

"Yes?"

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, Edward," I replied.

He grinned down at me, and I leaned back into his chest. I faintly heard him whisper "Isabella Marie Cullen" before I fell asleep in his arms.

**

* * *

**

**Okie dokie well...hope yall enjoy this! **

**Please review!! **

**Next chapter out sometime soon hopefully... **

**-danielle-**


	22. back at school

**Disclaimer: **

**Me: --_sings happy birthday to my friend—_ **

**My friend: yay!! **

**Me: and guess what I got you for a present! **

**My friend: um...idk...what?! **

**Me: open it! **

**My friend: --_opens package and finds it empty—_what the heck? –_she looks up and sees me cradling Twilight in my arms _**

****

**Me: --_tries to look innocent—_well...i was gonna give you Twilight...but I want it for myself... **

**My friend: Anna! Give me the fricken book! It's not like you own Twilight or anything! **

**Me: HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!?!?! I AM APPALED! **

**Chapter 22

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**

_"I love you so much."_

_"I love you too, Edward," I replied. _

_He grinned down at me, and I leaned back into his chest. I faintly heard him whisper "Isabella Marie Cullen" before I fell asleep in his arms. _

When I woke up and went into the kitchen for breakfast on Monday morning, I wasn't surprised to see Renee making me breakfast. She had done that every morning that she had been here. I think she felt that Charlie and I were underfed.

"Morning, sweetie," she said as I walked from the living room where I had been sleeping on the couch, into the kitchen.

"Morning Mom," I answered in reply. "What are you making?"

"Oh, just some French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Your usual school morning breakfast from Phoenix," she said nonchalantly. I let out an inaudible groan, and then sat down at the table. Renee put my breakfast down on the table and sat down next to me. "Eat up!" she instructed happily. I grabbed a fork and stabbed a piece of French toast and put it on my plate. I began to cut if up into little pieces and then Charlie walked downstairs.

"Morning," he said hurriedly. "I'm late; sorry I can't stay and chat. I'll see you all later." He grabbed his gun and ran outside the door. A second later, he ran back in.

"Oh, and Bella, you're supposed to call Dr. Cullen, he wanted to make sure you cuts are healing ok. _Now_ I better leave. Bye," he said as he rushed back out the door. I sighed. My stupid wolf-attack scars, the only thing anyone noticed about me these days.

Renee had told me that when she had first seen me at the airport, she was stunned. She hadn't said anything about it at the tie because she didn't want the first thing out of her mouth to be something rude about my looks. I was very thankful for that.

I could tell that she was worried about me, thought. We hadn't really had much time to talk about it when she first came on Friday because of all the chaos of Friday night. Alice making me her Barbie doll, dinner, Edward proposing...

But when I finally did get to talk to Renee about the whole thing on Saturday, she was very worried. I could tell that she was considering taking me back to Jacksonville so I would be safe from all the dangers of Forks.

Theres something I thought I would never say: dangers of Forks. Forks was probably the most un-dangerous place in the entire planet, except for the fact that there were vampires here. And werewolves nearby...

Ok, so maybe Forks wasn't the most un-dangerous place on the planet. But luckily I still managed to convince Renee that I would be fine, and that Edward would take good care of me when we were married. Then again, (but I didn't tell her this) when we got married, it would only be a few more days until I would be a vampire and more than capable of protecting myself.

"Bella, honey, you better get dressed. You don't want to be late," Renee said, interrupting my thoughts. I finished my breakfast quickly and ran up to my room to put on some clothes. As I walked back downstairs, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to see Edward smiling down at me. I grinned back up at him.

"Good morning," he said pleasantly. "I was wondering if you would like a ride to school this morning."

"I would like that," I replied, giggling at his formal tone. I said goodbye to Renee, and Edward took my hand and lead me to his car. He kept a firm grip on his hand the whole time.

"So, how are you doing today?" he asked, still sounding very formal.

"I am very good, thank you. And how are you doing today?" I asked just as formal.

"I am going incredibly well," he replied, grinning.

"Well, that's good," I said. I looked over at him, and we made eye contact. I tilted my head to the side, and he raised his eyebrows. I twisted my lips into a seductive smirk, and he now tilted his head to the side. I raised my eyebrows at him, but very seductively instead of in a questioning way. Then he leaned his head towards me, as if he was leaning in to kiss me, but at the last second I turned my head away.

He looked stunned, but recovered quickly.

"You are such a tease," he muttered under his breath. I giggled and leaned to whisper in his ear.

"Stop the car," I whispered. He did as he was told, and then looked at me with a questioning look on his face. I put on my seductive smirk again, and put one hand on the side of his face.

"You know," I whispered, "we are to be married soon..." I trailed off suggestively.

He did that smoldering eye thing that always made me lose every bit of my concentration. I nearly fainted into his arms, but somehow I managed to stay semi-conscious.

"Yes, we are to be married soon," he replied, his voice a low whisper as well. "In four weeks, to be exact."

I nodded. Now our faces were only a centimeter apart. I knew I was going to say something more, but Edward made me forget because of his smoldering eyes.

Stupid, unfair, cheating vampire.

"Do you know what married people do?" Edward asked seductively. I looked into his gorgeous eyes, and suddenly what he said clicked into place.

"Edward Cullen!" I yelled, appalled, as I pulled away from him. He chuckled.

"I told you, Bella. I may be a 100 year old vampire, but I still have the mind of a 17 year old boy. And what do all 17 year old boys want...?" It was clearly a rhetorical question.

I looked away from him, disgusted. But as I felt the car move as began to drive to school, I couldn't help but smile. It made me smile to know that Edward wanted me that way. Even though it was a bit...creepy...that he was thinking those things...

As we arrived at school, I felt Edward's hand tighten around mine. "What is it?" I asked him. I followed his eyes to see who or what he was glaring at.

" Newton," he growled. I could see Mike looking at me from across the school grounds. As we made eye contact, he beckoned for me to go over to him. I unbuckled my seatbelt and reached to open my door, but Edward grabbed my hand.

"No," he said. I gave him a questioning look.

"Why not?" I asked. He didn't respond. "Edward? Why not?" I asked again.

"Just...no." That answer wasn't good enough for me.

"Let go of my hand! I said angrily. He didn't, and I began to yell. "Edward Cullen, you do not have control over me. I can do what I want. Now let go of me!" I ripped my hand out of his grip, opened the door, and jumped out of the car.

"Hey, Mike," I said as I approached him.

"Hey, Bella," he replied. "So, Bella, I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime."

I looked at him, stunned. What an idiot! Did he not see Edward and I together all the time? Did he not understand that Edward and I are a happy couple? I mean, really! We are even engaged now!

"Um, Mike, I'm kinda going out with Edward..." I said.

"I know," he replied. I looked at him, even more stunned than before.

"Then, why would you think that I would go out with you?" I asked.

"Well, I didn't know if you guys were exclusive, or whatever." The weirdest part of this whole thing was that Mike was smiling. He didn't look the least bit embarrassed, and he didn't seem to think that there was anything wrong with what he was asking me.

"Um, sorry Mike, but no thanks," I said. "Um, Edward is waiting for me, so, um, I'll see you later," I said as I waved goodbye to him. But as I did, he grabbed my hand.

It was my left hand.

Shoot.

He turned my hand around and looked at my ring finger. I saw his eyes widen when he saw the ring that I was wearing. He let go of my hand and fell backwards. Luckily, we were standing in front of a bench, so he landed on it.

"Bella...please don't tell me that...is that...are you..." he couldn't seem to get a full sentence out, but I got the basic jist of what he was asking.

"Um, yes, Mike, Edward and I are—"

"—we're engaged." I turned around to see Edward behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist. I could tell by his expression that he was about ready to kill Mike for asking me out.

"You're what?" Mike asked, hoping that he misheard us.

"We're engaged," I said, holding up my hand again. Mike looked stunned.

"You're engaged? Bella, how could you even _think_ of marrying this guy? After what he did to you!" Mike said, clearly about ready to explode.

"Well, Mike, its complicated..." I said.

"Well, no, its really not," Edward said. "Here's the basic story. I love Bella. She loves me. I left. I came back. We still loved each other. I asked her to marry me. She said yes. End of story."

Mike looked like he had just been punched in the face. "Uh...I...well..." he stuttered. Then, without any warning, he stood up and ran away from us.

I looked over at Edward, and he looked back at me. I sighed.

"This is going to be a long day..." I said

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**Yay! Mikes a FREAK! Hehehehe! **

**Anyway... **

**Please review everyone! I really like reviews and I would REALLY appreciate it! **

**Next chapter out like...1-4 days...as usual... **

**-danielle- **


	23. we're doing WHAT?

**Hey. Sorry it's been so long since I updated...I've been really busy. I'm the middle school play now, so I might not be able to update as often. Sorry! **

**This chapter is kinda short, but I thought where I ended was a good place to end. Sorry for the shortness... **

**Disclaimer: I'm getting bored of thinking up funny disclaimers. Can't you people just realize that I don't own twilight?!?!? Is it really that hard to get through your heads? Geeze people! I DON'T OWN IT!! **

**Chapter 23

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**

_I looked over at Edward, and he looked back at me. I sighed._

_"This is going to be a long day..." I said._

The first half of the day passed without conflict. I kept my hand out of sight when I was around anyone except Edward or Alice, and I figured Mike hadn't been able to pass the word around yet. Even so, by lunch time, I was more than ready to go home.

I sat down at our usual lunch table, and Edward and Alice each sat on either side of me. When everyone was seated, Mike looked up from his food and looked at me.

"I never really go to congratulate you two," he said. I could tell by his tone and his expression that he was saying 'ha, now everyone will know.' He turned to look at Edward and continued. "Congrats. Your very lucky, Edward. I only wish I would've beaten you to it. But no hard feelings, I know she'll appreciate you almost as much as she would've if I was in your place."

Edward looked like he was about ready to murder Mike. Everyone looked up from their tables to look at Edward and I. Well, everyone except Alice, who looked at Mike, clearly stunned at how cruel he was.

"What are you talking about, Mike?" Jessica asked, looking back and forth from Edward to me.

"Oh, didn't Bella tell you?" Mike asked in false surprise. "Oh, well, I guess I'll tell you then. Her and Edward are _engaged._"

You could've heard a pin drop in the lunch room. Mike had made a point to say the last bit as loud as he could, so everyone in the whole cafeteria heard him. I looked around, and everyone was staring at us, looking stunned.

"You're...you're...what?" Jess stuttered.

"We're engaged," I said quietly, thoroughly embarrassed. I could feel my face getting hot, and was sure that I was probably as red as a tomato. Jess still looked disbelieving, so I held out my hand to show her. As my ring came into view, all the girls gasped.

I felt like I was reliving the day everyone first saw my scars all over again. Everyone staring at me and making comments. Only this time, the comments were more "congratulations" instead of "I'm sorry."

"Bella, that ring is beautiful!" said Jess. She acted like that was all that mattered, and I supposed that in her book, it was.

"Congratulations," Angela said, and I could tell that she really meant it. Thank goodness for people like Angela.

Lauren glared at me from across the table. She looked furious and jealous at the same time.

Ben and Conner stared at the ring, looking stunned. Tyler and Eric both looked a little angry.

Mike, of course, looked pleased with himself and furious at the same time.

Suddenly, people from other tables throughout the room began to drift over to our table. Everyone wanted to see my ring, or make some comment about how lucky I was. Most of the people I didn't even know, and wasn't even sure I had seen some of them before.

I hated all this attention. I just wanted to go home, or leave the lunch room, or anything to get away from this situation.

"Alright people, stop. Bella is not something to 'ooo' and 'ahh' at. She is not a statue or a painting, she is a human being. Now, everyone go back to your own tables and leave her alone!"

Everyone instantly became silent and stared at Alice because of her sudden outburst. Then everyone began to chatter amongst themselves (some of them about what a spaz that Cullen girl was, or other things like that) and they walked back over to their tables. I shot a grateful glance at Alice and she smiled.

As everyone settled back down, Angela opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it.

"What, Angela?" Jessica asked, irritated.

"Well, I was going to ask something about the wedding," Angela said, looking at me, "but I'm sure you don't want any more attention about it, Bella."

"Oh, its fine, Angela. Go ahead," I said. If only everyone at this table was like Angela.

"Well, when is it?" she asked. I looked at Edward, and he nodded, confirming my question of 'is it going to be the weekend before graduation?'

"It's the weekend before graduation," I replied.

"So soon?" Angela asked. I nodded. "But, why?" she asked again.

"Well...um...I..." I didn't know what to say, but luckily Edward came to my rescue.

"Well, Bella and I were planning on going on a 2 week long cruise this summer, and it leaves a day after graduation. We didn't want to wait very long to get married, so we decided to have the wedding as soon as possible," he said. Everyone looked at us with shocked expressions. I'm sure I even looked surprised.

"You guys are going on a 2 week cruise?!" Lauren asked. I could tell that she looked excited, but when she realized her nice-ness, she began to scowl at me again.

"Yes," Edward replied, looking like it was nothing out of the ordinary for an 18 year old couple to go on a 2 week long cruise.

"Is your family going along?" Angela asked.

"Only Jasper and I," Alice said. I looked at them, shocked. Were they just making something up, or were they serious?

"So, you're not going to have any parental supervision?!?" Lauren asked. Edward simply shrugged, again not noticing the unordinary-ness of this situation. Jessica, Angela, and Lauren gasped. I was with them, but I didn't gasp out of surprise how risqué this situation was. I gasped because, if they were actually going to happen, those two weeks were going to be pure bliss.

"So, where are you going?" Jessica asked.

"That is a secret. Bella doesn't even know that yet," Edward said.

No fair.

Suddenly, the bell rang. Everyone stood up from the table and threw their uneaten lunches away, and began to make their way to their next class.

"Edward, what would you say to skipping the next 2 periods?" I asked Edward. He looked surprised.

"You, of all people, want to skip school?" he asked. I nodded.

"I don't want to be tormented by everyone in every class about our engagement," I said. Edward nodded and led me out of the lunchroom, followed by Alice. Apparently, she was skipping the rest of the day too.

As we reached the car and Edward began to drive back to his house, I asked him if we were actually going on cruise.

"Edward, was what you said a cover up, or are we actually going on a 2 week cruise?"

"We're actually going on a 2 week cruise," he said. I gasped and looked at him, thinking his answer was going to be different.

"We are?!" I squealed. He nodded like it was no big deal. "Oh, my, gosh," I said. I looked back at Alice and she was grinning at me. I squealed again. " Alice, this is going to be so much fun!" I said.

"Actually, part of what Edward said isn't true," she said. I looked at her questioningly and she grinned even more. She inclined her head towards Edward and I turned to look at him.

"What isn't true?" I asked him.

"Well, it actually depends on what you choose. Alice told everyone that it was just us four just to see what all your friends would say, but really, who comes along is all up to you. I was planning on using the cruise as part one of our honeymoon, so I'll understand if you want it to only be us," he replied.

"So, I could choose it to be just us, or us, Alice, and Jasper," I said, thinking.

"Or the entire family could go along. As I said, this would only be part one of the honeymoon, so we would have more alone time later," he said.

I thought for a moment. Did I want to be with just Edward for two weeks, or with his entire family?

"Edward, I think I would like it more if the entire family came along," I said. Edward nodded, but he didn't look surprised at my answer.

"Did you already know what my answer was going to be?" I asked, thinking of Alice's power. He sighed, and nodded.

"She saw all of us on the boat. It's a good thing that you chose this, actually," he said.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Well, if you still want to, we are going to change you after graduation. So, you would be a vampire when we go on the cruise, and all of us would sparkle in the sun. So what we're planning on doing is just the family go on a private boat. Carlisle knows how to drive a boat, so he will be the captain," Edward said. I grinned.

"This is going to be so much fun!" I said. Edward chuckled. "So, are you sure you can't tell me where we'll be going?" I asked him hopefully.

"Not a chance," he said, grinning. I sighed and sat back in the seat of the car.

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**Again, sorry for the short chapter. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon, but I can't make any promises...**

**Please review! Please! PLEASE! **

**Till next time **

**-danielle- **


	24. planning the wedding

**Heeeeey everyone. So I realized that I REALLY like the CAPS LOCK button so I'm going to randomly use it in my AUThors NOTEs from noW On. BecaUSE thE caPS LOCK button is FUn. **

**diSclAIMeR: I don't OWN Twilight OR New MOOn. EvEn thOUgh I reALly waNt to oWn it. yA. **

**Chapter 24**

_"This is going to be so much fun!" I said. Edward chuckled. "So, are you sure you can't tell me where we'll be going?" I asked him hopefully. _

_"Not a chance," he said, grinning. I sighed and sat back in the seat of the car. _

We arrived at the Cullen Mansion soon after. Esme and Carlisle looked a bit surprised to see us, but after a moment they seemed to get it.

"People giving you a hard time about the engagement," Carlisle said, understanding. Edward and I nodded.

"I had to explain to everyone about the cruise," Edward said. Esme's face brightened.

"Are you excited, Bella?" she said. I nodded.

"I've decided that you all should come. Although, I guess you already know that," I said, remembering Alice's vision. Carlisle and Esme nodded.

"I'll be right back," Edward said, motioning for Alice and Carlisle to follow him. I looked at him questioningly, but he waved his hand as if to say "its nothing."

Esme and I sat down on the couch as we waited for them to come back.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" I asked Esme. She shook her head and I sighed. Then I though of something. "Esme," I said, "can you tell me where we're going on the cruise?"

Esme giggled and shook her head again. "Sorry, honey. Edward asked all of us to keep that a secret. But I can tell you that I know your going to love it," she said.

"Fine," I mumbled. This was going to bug me. I really wanted to know where we were going!

Just then Edward, Alice, and Carlisle walked back into the family room. I gave him a questioning look again, but he only waved his hand in the same way as before.

"So, Bella, what do you want to do?" Alice asked.

"Um..." I started to say, but she cut me off.

"Well, since you don't know, I was thinking we should start planning the wedding," she said.

"Um, no thanks," I said.

"Bella..." Alice pleaded as she began to move towards me. I slid farther away from her on the couch, and then stood up. I ran to hide behind Edward, but Alice, with her stupid super vampire speed, caught me before I even took two steps towards him.

"Let me go, Alice!" I said. She didn't loosen her grip on me. "Edward, save me!" I said. I looked over at him and saw him laughing. "Hey! It's not funny!" I said, but Edward continued to laugh. I looked over at Carlisle and Esme and saw them laughing too.

"Bella, you have to admit, it is pretty funny," Alice said. I looked up at her and scowled.

"Oh, you may laugh now, but just wait until I'm a vampire like all of you. I'll use my power to make you all suffer! Just you wait!" I said. Everyone began to laugh harder at that.

I hate them all.

" Alice, let me go," I demanded once more.

"Bella," Edward said, "I really think we should maybe do a bit of wedding planning. We only have four weeks, and I know from experiencing many of Emmett and Rosalie's weddings that we have a lot to do."

I groaned and then nodded. "Fine," I said. Then Alice picked me up and carried me up to her room.

" Alice! Put me down!" I yelled. When we entered her room she finally dropped me, and I groaned again. There were at least 30 different bridal magazines or catalogues spread around her floor.

" Alice..." I groaned. She giggled.

"Come on, Bella. It will be fun! And don't worry; we'll only be able to do a little bit of planning right now, so you won't be too overwhelmed," she said.

"Fine," I said as I sat down on the floor in between Alice and Edward.

After sitting in Alice's room for who knows how long, I heard my cell phone ring.

"Hello?" I said as I answered it.

"Bella, where are you?" the voice asked. I could tell it was Charlie.

"Oh, Dad, I'm so sorry!" I said as I looked over at the clock. It said 6:00. "I'm at the Cullens, I totally lost track of time!" I said.

"You...wait...what were you doing...?" He asked. Oops, I thought, thinking of what he probably thought I was doing...with Edward...

"Oh, Alice, Edward, and I were planning for the wedding," I said.

"Oh," Charlie replied. I could hear the disapproval in his voice. He still didn't totally like the whole wedding idea.

"I'll come home right away," I said.

"OK, Bella. See you soon," Charlie said as he hung up.

"Sorry, Bella," Alice said as I closed my cell phone. "I forgot what time it was."

"It's fine, Alice," I said. Edward said that he would take me home, so we walked outside his house and got into the Volvo.

"So, I'm guessing that you're not going to tell Charlie that you skipped school today?" Edward asked on the way back to my house. I giggled.

"The school probably already called him and told him. Whatever. I really don't even care any more," I said. Edward looked surprised.

"It's hard to believe that you're the same girl who I asked to skip biology last year, and you were too afraid," he said as he remembered.

"Well, back then, I had just moved to Forks, and I was easily scared. I guess hanging around with vampires all the time can make you a little bit braver," I said, grinning at Edward. He chuckled.

"Yes, I supposed it would..." he said. We pulled up at my house a couple seconds later, thanks to Edward's crazy super fast driving.

"You'll come back tonight, right?" I asked Edward. He nodded. He leaned in to kiss me goodbye, but our kiss got a little bit more intense than just a small goodbye kiss. We broke apart and I was gasping for breath, while Edward smirked at me. I opened the car door and attempted go get out of his car, but ended up falling back into the seat. He chuckled and got out of the car to help me. In a second he was in front of my door and offering me his hand.

"Thank...you...," I said, still gasping for breath. He smiled.

"You're welcome," he replied. He looked me over and then said, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm...fine..." I said, breathing heavily. He raised his eyebrows at me, and I nodded. He shrugged.

"Alright, then. I'll see you later tonight," he said. I nodded and began to walk to the house. I fumbled with the doorknob, but finally was able to open the door.

I really needed to work on actually being able to act normal after we kissed. My reactions were embarrassing.

"Hey, Bells," Charlie said as I walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Dad," I replied, still breathing heavily. Charlie looked at me questioningly. 

"Are you ok, honey?" he asked. I nodded.

"I'm fine, just a little out of breath," I said. Oops. Wrong thing to say.

"Why...?" Charlie asked, looking suspicious.

"Oh...um...well... Alice...well...she...um...we...worked out...in the Cullen's work out room. Ya. And we got really tired. So, that's why I'm sorta out of breath."

Ok, so I know I said I've been getting better at lying, but come on. What else was I supposed to say?! There was absolutely nothing else that I could've said.

I could tell that Charlie didn't believe me, but he didn't press the matter further. I started to get some things out to make dinner, but Charlie stopped me.

"I already had something to eat Bells, so you don't have to make a big dinner for me," he said. I nodded and then got out the necessary supplies to make a PB&J sandwich. I made it quickly and then ran upstairs to my room to do my homework.

Even though it was only 6:30, I saw Edward already sitting in the corner of my room. He smiled at me as I walked in.

"What are you doing here so early?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"I missed you," he said as I walked over to sit on his lap. He kissed the top of my head and I giggled.

"We've been apart for half an hour!" I said as he began to trail kisses from the top of my head, to my ear, and along the edge of my face.

"Yes, and it was much too long," he said as his kisses came nearer to my lips. But right as he was about to kiss my lips, he moved away from me to look at my face. I sighed. Stupid vampire.

"So, I'm guessing that you have a lot of homework to do," he said. I nodded. "Well, then, you should probably do it," he said as he stood up and carried me to my desk. I sighed again.

"Fine," I said as I opened my math book. I found a sheet of paper and began to start when I noticed that Edward was still standing behind me. I tried to ignore him, but I was very difficult.

I read the first problem at least 10 times before I realized that I wasn't comprehending any of it. Edward was standing with his hands on each of my shoulders, moving them up and down my arms.

I continued to try to ignore him, but I knew my attempts were in vain. Did he actually expect me to concentrate when he was doing that? He noticed that I wasn't even trying to do my homework anymore, and I heard him chuckle. He moved his head so his lips were right up against my ear and began to whisper to me.

"Can't concentrate?" he asked in a very seductive voice. It sent shivers up my spine.

"Um..." I said, trying to form a sentence. It was impossible. He kissed my cheek and began to trail kisses along my jaw again, stopping when he was in the middle of my chin. Then he began to trail the kisses back up to my ear again, and he whispered to me again.

"Would you like me to stop?" he asked in that same seductive voice. I shivered again, and he chuckled. He ran his hands up and down my neck, over my shoulders, to my hands, and then back up again.

"I..." I started, but it took too much energy to talk. He continued to run his hands up and down my arms, but he leaned in to whisper again.

"Isabella Marie Cullen," he whispered. He slowly turned my chair around and looked into my eyes. He leaned in to kiss along my jaw again.

"Edwa..." I moaned. If he had any idea how wonderful this was for me...

"Isabella Marie Cullen..." he whispered again. He pulled away slightly, and then leaned in to kiss my lips at last.

That's when I fainted.

**Edward's POV (yay!) **

I leaned in to kiss Bella's lips. I had waited so long to kiss her because I hadn't hunted in a while, and I wanted to make sure I was in control. Now I knew that I was, and I was going to kiss her.

Our lips touched, and I felt her melt like she always did when we kissed. But then I realized that she had actually melted. She had actually fainted.

"Bella...?" I said as I picked her up. I carried her over to her bed and gently laid her down. "Bella...?" I said again. She didn't respond.

Darn it. I walked into the bathroom as quietly as I could and grabbed a washcloth with some cold water on it. Then I quietly went back into Bella's room and placed the washcloth on her forehead. I sat with it there for a couple minutes when I heard Charlie walking up the stairs.

Darn it again.

I quickly positioned Bella so it looked like she was sleeping, and then I hid in her closet. Charlie peeked his head into the room and, seeing Bella asleep, walked back out again. I ran out of the closet after he left and put the washcloth back on Bella's forehead. Then I remembered her homework.

I walked over to her desk and looked at her homework. It was simple trig; I didn't see why she couldn't do it before. I finished it quickly and then walked back over to her. She began to stir and then awoke.

"You...made...me...faint!" she said. I laughed as I remembered the exact same words come out of her mouth the day she met my family the first time. I helped her sit up.

"Sorry, Bella," I said as I cradled her in my arms. I began to hum her lullaby, and then felt her fall asleep.

**hopE YOU liKE tHAt chaPTer! it wAS actUALLy lonG! yAy!**

**pleASE review!**

**neXT chaPTer out IN a Few daYS!**

**-danieLLE-**


	25. the perfect place

**Wow! 407 reviews! I never expected that many. ITS INSANE! **

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**As I said before...ITS INSANE! **

**Anyway... **

**Sorry this chapter took so long. I have been so busy. As I said before, im in the play at my middle school and I have rehearsal every day after school so im kinda busy... **

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight or new moon. It makes me want to cry. **

**

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**Chapter 25**

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_"You...made...me...faint!" she said. I laughed as I remembered the exact same words come out of her mouth the day she met my family the first time. I helped her sit up. _

_"Sorry, Bella," I said as I cradled her in my arms. I began to hum her lullaby, and then felt her fall asleep. _

**Bella's POV **

"Edward...do I really have to do this?" I asked as I walked into the Cullen's Mansion. Edward grinned as he looked over at me.

"Yes, Bella, you really have to do this," he said, and I groaned. It was Friday and Alice had decided that this weekend we were going to start doing major wedding plans. Ugh, I hate those words. Wedding plans. I have heard them many times in the past week, and whenever I did it made me want to puke.

Wedding plans.

Wedding plans.

Ew.

"Edward, I—" I started to protest again, but he gave me a stern look. I closed my mouth and sighed. "Fine," I said. He chuckled.

"That's my girl," he said teasingly.

"Hello, Bella," Carlisle said as we walked into the mansion. I waved back at him as I mumbled a 'hello.' He began to chuckle because of my lack of enthusiasm for today's plans. I thought about how I must look, and joined in on the laughter. Edward looked back and forth from Carlisle to me strangely. He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand.

"Come on," he said. "We have to go plan." I stopped laughing immediately and my expression turned into a frown. Now Edward began to laugh, and I scowled at him. I turned away from him and began to walk towards the stairs. But being me, as I began to walk away angrily, I tripped.

I felt Edwards cold arms wrap around me before I hit the ground, and then he helped me stand upright.

"Thank you," I said. Then I continued to walk upstairs. When I arrived in Alice's room, I saw Edward sitting on her bed, waiting for me.

"Hello again," he said. I giggled, but then composed myself. I turned away from him and walked out of Alice's room.

I loved having these little "mini-fights" with Edward. I loved that we could get in teasing, fake fights, and not actually get angry with each other. But then we could also have sweet and romantic times together. I will never get over how lucky I am to have someone like Edward Cullen.

I marched down the hall to Edward's room, still playing along with our "fight." I entered his room and sat down on his couch, and folded my arms over my chest. I heard laughter coming from somewhere around me, and looked around to see where it was coming from. I stood up and walked over to Edward's closet. I opened the door and looked to see if he was hiding in it. He wasn't, so I turned back around and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw him.

"Hello again," Edward said. He was sitting on his couch, looking relaxed, like he had been sitting there the whole time. I giggled and walked over to sit down next to him. "Oh, so we're on good terms now?" he asked when I began to cuddle into him. I nodded.

"Yup. We're good," I said. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me. We weren't alone for more than 10 seconds when Edward's door opened and Alice pranced into the room.

"Hey, you two love birds, come on! We have tons of work to do, theres no time for sitting around. Hurry up!" she said as she walked up next to us. She grabbed each of our arms and began to pull us up off the couch and out of the room. I groaned and Edward laughed.

We reached Alice's room, and I saw the millions of wedding magazines spread out on her floor again. I groaned for the millionth time today and sat down on Alice's bed. "Ok, Alice, where should we start?" I asked her.

"Well," she said as she took out a notebook and pencil, "we need to find a cater and a band to play at the reception. We also have to finish up the guest list and pick out the flowers that you want to have. And of course, you need to decide on a location for the ceremony and the reception. And then I was thinking that tomorrow we could go to Seattle and pick out dresses. Does that sound good?"

"Um...ok..." I said. Everything sounded so overwhelming, I couldn't think straight. Edward put his arm around me and whispered in my ear.

"Everything is going to be fine. I know it seems like a lot now, but really, it's not too much work to do. Everything is going to be fine," he said. I nodded.

"Ok, so what should we start with?" Alice asked. I thought about what would be the easiest thing to do, and was about to answer when I saw Alice's expression go blank. After a few seconds, she snapped out of her trance and looked at Edward and I.

"I think we should start with planning where you want the ceremony and reception to be," she said with a grin.

" Alice, what did you see?" I asked. I turned to Edward and saw that he was grinning too. "Edward, what did she see?" I asked again.

"Bella, I know the perfect place for our wedding," he said.

"Well...where is it?" I asked after he didn't say anything more.

"Come with me," he said. Edward and I stood up, but Alice stayed where she was. Edward took my hand and led me out of Alice's room, downstairs, and out of the Cullen's house. I started to walk towards Edward's Volvo, but he led me a different way. I looked at him questioningly, but he simply continued to lead me. We walked farther and farther away from his house, when we finally arrived in an area that I recognized. It was the meadow that I had watched Edward and his family play baseball in. I shivered as I remembered what had happened on that fateful night. James' coven had shown up here, wanting to play baseball. Then James had gotten a whiff of my scent, and began a game of cat and mouse that made Alice and Jasper have to take me down to Phoenix to get away from him. In the end, he had caught up with me and bitten me. It was only because of Edward that I wasn't a vampire right now; he had sucked the venom out of me.

Edward sensed my discomfort as we approached this meadow, and he let go of my hand to wrap his arms around my waist. I stopped walking, thinking that this meadow was the perfect place that Alice had seen, but Edward continued walking.

"Bella, it is sort of rough terrain the rest of the way. I think it would be easier for you if you rode on my back. Is that alright with you?" he asked as he stopped walking for a moment.

"Um, ok," I said. The words were barely out of my mouth when I felt myself being lifted up into the air and flung onto Edward's back. A second later, he was running.

I was surprised by how natural this felt. I no longer needed to close my eyes or cower into his back because I was afraid I would get sick. I could sit up and feel the wind whipping into my face and breathe in the smells of the forest. It was a great feeling.

I wound my arms tightly around Edward's neck, clinging to him. I knew that if he would have been human, I would be choking him right now. But since he wasn't and I knew I couldn't hurt him, I gripped him very tightly. I leaned down and breathed in his scent. It was overpowering, and made me dizzy. I faintly heard Edward laugh, and realized that he must've heard my heart thud out a random rhythm when I breathed in his scent. I could feel myself blush and I think he felt it too, since I was resting my head on his back. He laughed again, and then stopped running. He waited for me to get off his back, but I didn't want to let him go.

"Um...Bella...you can let go now," he said. I shook my head, knowing that he would feel it.

"I'll never let you go!" I said in a teasing voice as I wrapped my arms around him tighter. He reached up and carefully unlocked my arms from around him, and then lifted me off his back and set me down on the ground. "Ok, maybe I will let go..." I said in defeat. Edward chuckled and took my arms in his hands. Then he moved them so they were, once again, wrapped around his neck. He stepped so he was closer to me and leaned down and gently kissed my lips.

Somehow, I managed not to freak out.

We broke apart a moment later. It wasn't an intense, passionate kiss, but it was perfect all the same. I looked up at Edward and he gave me the crooked smile I love. "What was that for?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I just got a sudden urge to kiss you," he said, grinning. I laughed.

"Fine by me," I said. I left my arms wrapped around my neck, but turned so I could look around me. When I saw where I was standing, I gasped.

We were in a clearing, a little bigger than our meadow. I saw many trees that I knew to be apple trees from the beautiful white flowers blossoming on them. I turned my head to look in another direction, and saw a large rock wall with a natural waterfall flowing down it, landing in a small pond with a river that flowed out of it. I turned my head again and saw a small white gazebo at the end of the clearing, surrounded by more apple trees, all full of white blossoms.

"Edward...its beautiful..." I breathed. I moved my arms so I was only holding his hand, and began to walk towards the waterfall. He followed close behind me, and when I reached the waterfall I bent down to feel the water. It was a little cold, but not freezing, and there was something about it that felt almost...magical...

I pulled my hand out of Edward's and cupped my hands together. I dipped them into the water again, and when I pulled them back out of the pond, the water in them was glistening just like Edward's skin does when he stands out in the sun. I stood up from the edge of the pond and began to walk towards the gazebo. I reached one of the apple trees that stood next to it and reached out for one of the blossoms. Suddenly, Edward was by my side. He picked one of the while blossoms and put it in my hair.

"Beautiful..." he whispered into my ear, repeating my last words. I smiled. I reached for his hand again, and began to walk into the gazebo. I looked around and saw that it was very old. A lot of the white paint was chipping away and I could see the old wood showing through. I ran my fingers over the wood and then turned back around to face Edward.

"You like it?" he asked. I nodded.

"Edward, it's perfect," I said. "Why didn't you even tell me about this place?" I asked him.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't know it was here," he said. "We own a lot of land, and there is a lot of it that I haven't explored. I don't think anyone in my family knew it was here, actually. But when Alice saw it in her vision, I knew you would love it."

"How did you know where to find it?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I guess it was just a weird vampire sense," he said with a grin. I laughed. Then I walked out of the gazebo and over to the side of the clearing opposite of the waterfall. There was a small, stone bench, surrounded by white and pink roses, and pink bleeding hearts. There was a path of circular stones that led to the bench, and next to it was a bird bath. I walked along the stone path and sat down on the bench. In a moment, Edward was sitting next to me. He put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. I cuddled against him and closed my eyes. I felt completely relaxed. After a while I opened my eyes.

"How old do you think all these things are?" I asked him. I knew he would know what I was talking about.

"Well, we lived in a different house the last time we were in Forks," he said, thinking. "The house we are in now has been around since before the last time we were here. I believe the house was built around 1900, and the gazebo looks about as old as the house did when we first bought it. So, I'm guessing everything here is about 100 years old," he finished. I gasped.

"100 years?" I asked incredulously. He nodded. "Wow..." I breathed as I looked around. Then I leaned in to him and closed my eyes again. We sat in silence for a while, taking in our surroundings.

"I haven't asked you the most important question," Edward said after a few minutes. I opened my eyes and sat up, and looked at him.

"Yes?" I said.

"What do you think of this place for our wedding?" he asked. I closed my eyes and tried to picture it. Me, wearing a white wedding dress. Edward, looking perfect as always, in a tuxedo. The clearing adorned with flowers. Edward and my family, together, watching Edward and I take our vows.

"It's perfect," I finally said. Edward smiled.

"I think so too."

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**Yay! I am really proud of this chapter. My last chapters have basically sucked because I couldn't really get in to it. But this one is really good I think. Or at least, the finding-the-clearing part is...**

**Maybe I'm just weird, but I think it says somewhere that the Cullens have a lot of land. If it doesn't say that, then im just crazy and made stuff up. But I think it does, so thats how edward didn't know about the clearing. And about the clearing...yes, I made it up. I was trying to not make it seem more spectacular than the meadow (I mean, come on. The meadow is like...the meadow! I didn't dare try to make this better than that) but I did make it seem a bit over-spectacular. I just had a totally awesome picture in my mind of this place, and it was like...awesome. So it's kinda...WOW!...if you know what I mean...**

**For those of you who don't know what bleeding hearts are, they are my fave kind of flower. Here's 2 pics of what they look like... **

**http://photos11. **

**I love them! They are soooo cool!! **

**Again, sorry that chapter took so long to get out. I hope the next one will be quicker, but I sorta doubt it. Im going to be even more busy because this week is the play performance (ya...its really soon. The stupid director only planned 3 weeks of rehearsal so the play is gonna FAIL) so I'm going to be really busy with that. But I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Sorry if its not out until like...Sunday or Monday or something. **

**Please review! I want to know how I did! **

**--danielle--**


	26. a small wedding?

**Yay! Make sure to read the note at the bottom—its important.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight. Really. I don't. **

* * *

**Chapter 26**

"_What do you think of this place for our wedding?" he asked. I closed my eyes and tried to picture it. Me, wearing a white wedding dress. Edward, looking perfect as always, in a tuxedo. The clearing adorned with flowers. Edward and my family, together, watching Edward and I take our vows. _

"_It's perfect," I finally said. Edward smiled. _

"_I think so too."_

Edward and I sat on the stone bench for another immeasurable moment. A while later, I heard someone approach us. Edward and I both opened our eyes and looked up. It was Alice, and she was in awe. She looked around at the clearing, and then ran over to us.

"This place is perfect," she breathed, still trying to take in the beauty of the clearing.

"Bella and I think so too," Edward said. Alice walked over to the gazebo and closed her eyes. Then she turned around so her back was to the gazebo, and closed her eyes once more. After doing this in each direction, she walked back over to us.

"What were you just doing, Alice?" I asked.

"I was picturing how this place would look for your wedding. I was thinking that you could put the chairs here," she walked over to the middle of the clearing and gestured around her, "and then the aisle could be here," she made a line down the center of the clearing to the gazebo. "You could say your vows in the gazebo," she said as she walked over to it. "What do you think?"

Edward and I looked at each other, and both nodded.

"Sounds good," I said. Alice walked back over to the middle of the clearing and started talking to herself. She was pointing at random places in the grass and kept closing her eyes like she was deep in thought.

"Alice, I don't think we're going to need that many chairs," Edward said. I realized that he must have known what Alice was doing all along.

"What?" Alice said, looking surprised.

"Well, Bella and I were talking about it, and we both agree that a smaller wedding would be better," he said. I nodded, remembering the conversation we had on Wednesday on the way to school in the morning.

Alice looked shocked. "A...small...wedding...?" she stammered. Edward and I nodded simultaneously. Alice looked like her world had been turned upside down. "Um...if that's...really what you...want..." she said. She still looked very shocked, and I laughed.

"Sorry to ruin all your fun, Alice," I said, "but it's what we both want. Maybe just your family, my family, and some people from school," I said. "And then whoever else Edward wants to invite."

"I was thinking that maybe we would want to invite the Denali coven. We haven't seen them in a long time," Edward said.

"Um...alright..." Alice said. She composed herself, then said, "Well, should we go back home and we can make the guest list?"

"Sure," I said. Edward gestured for me to climb on his back, and I did. I wrapped my arms tightly around him again, and he began running.

**Edward's POV**

We arrived back at my house a few minutes later. I loosened Bella's grip around me and set her down on the ground. As much as I enjoyed her touch, it was very difficult to have her that close to me. Yes, it was always difficult, but this was one of the times when it was more difficult than usual. You would think that her scent wouldn't be as powerful because of the wind rushing by, but the wind didn't seem to affect it at all. Whenever she rode on my back as I ran, I had to remember to think very hard about something else, or just to not breathe. Usually the second option worked better than the first.

Bella and I followed Alice up to her room. I kept a firm grip on Bella's hand the whole time. It was amazing that when I touched her, I still felt sparks between us. I don't know if she felt it any more, but I always did. As we were walking upstairs, I couldn't help but stare at Bella. There was something about her today that was exceptionally beautiful. Maybe it was just the fact we were planning our wedding, and that just made me happy. I'm not really sure. All I know is that I stared at her the whole time we were walking up to Alice's room.

"What?" Bella said as she saw me staring at her.

"It's just...you look very beautiful today," I said. Bella smiled and looked like she was glowing.

_Suck up._ Alice thought to me. I laughed.

"Alice, why would I suck up to my fiancée?" I asked her.

_Because you're a stupid, romantic, lovesick vampire._

"Well, I should be lovesick, shouldn't I? I am getting married in a few weeks."

_Yes, well, that doesn't mean you have to go and woo your fiancée every chance you get._

"I don't!"

_Are you kidding me, Edward? Do you not realize that Bella practically faints whenever you look at her? Or do you think that all girls do that when they talk to men?_

"Bella said something similar to that to me once..." I said, remembering.

"What is going on?" Bella asked. Alice and I looked at her, and burst out laughing. Bella looked very confused.

"Nothing," I said as reached for her hand. I kissed the back of it and then set it back next to her side. "Now, let's go plan our wedding," I said.

Alice was right, Bella did look like she was going to faint. I chuckled, and then we all continued to walk to Alice's room.

**Bella's POV**

We didn't finish the guest list until 6:30. At that time, the people invited were:

Charlie

Renee

Phil

Carlisle

Esme

Alice

Jasper

Emmett

Rosalie

Tanya

Kate

Irina

Carmen

Eleazar

Angela

Ben

Mike

Jessica

Edward and I had thought very long and hard about who in our grade we should invite. I knew that I had to invite Angela; she was the only one of my non-vampire friends that was actually nice. But we did talk for a long time about which of our other lunch friends we should invite. Should we invite Jessica? Or Mike, who was bound to mess something up? In the end we decided to only invite Jessica, Mike, Angela, and Ben (Ben because he was going out with Angela.) We also talked about inviting the Blacks, but we decided against it. We knew that having a werewolf and 7 vampires together at our wedding may cause a few problems or start a conflict. Especially since the werewolf was Jacob, and we all knew that he was very easily upset.

After we finished the guest list, Renee called my cell phone. She told me that she had gotten a plane ticket, and that she was planning on leaving to go back to Jacksonville on Sunday afternoon. When I told Alice and Edward this, Alice insisted that we go dress shopping tomorrow.

"We want to find perfect bridesmaids dresses that fit the bridesmaids perfectly, so it would be best if your mother was there when we picked them out," she said.

"Fine," I groaned. Alice laughed her tinkling, musical laugh.

"We don't have to find your dress, we can just find the bridesmaids dresses," she said to soothe me. "Speaking of bridesmaids, have you figured out who yours are going to be?" Alice continued.

"Well, Edward and I thought that I should only have one: my maid of honor, and that he should only have a best man. Since we're having a small wedding, you know," I said. This was another thing we had talked about Wednesday morning on the way to school.

"Well, who is going to be your maid of honor?" Alice asked impatiently.

I hadn't given much thought to this because I knew my answer without even having to think about it. There was only one person who I would even consider to be the maid of honor.

"Renee," I answered promptly. Alice looked a little hurt. "Oh, Alice," I said, "I'm sorry. But, she's my mother. I've known her all my life; she was my best and only friend until I moved to Forks."

Alice nodded, understanding. "It's fine. She is your mother. She should be your maid of honor. Well, Edward, while we're on the subject, who is going to be your best man?"

Edward looked thoughtful for a moment, and then sighed. "I'm not sure," he said. "We were thinking that Carlisle could be the preacher, since he is a pastor's son. And he is who I would have had for my best man. But since he is out of the question..." Edward trailed off, thinking.

"Well, there will be plenty of time to think about that later," Alice said. "Now, Bella," she turned to me, "we should leave to go to Seattle bright and early tomorrow morning. I was thinking I could pick up you and your mother at about 8:00—"

"8:00!" I interrupted her. "You have got to be kidding me, Alice. If you are going to pick us up at 8, then I'll have to get up by 7:30, at the latest. Probably more like 7 because I know that you won't let me go to the mall without being beautiful, and it will take a very long time to make that happen..."

"Bella, you are very beautiful, and—" Edward said, interrupting me. "I am not a suck up, Alice!" He said, obviously responding to Alice's thoughts again. I laughed, even thought I hadn't heard the whole conversation.

"Anyway..." I continued, "I refuse to get up at 7:00 am, and I think my mother will probably agree with me."

Alice looked crestfallen, but then sighed. "I guess your right. How does 8:30 sound?"

I glared at her. "Alice..." I warned.

"Alright, alright. 9."

"Alice!"

"Ok, ok, 10. Ugh. I hate late starts," she groaned in exasperation.

"10 isn't late! It's perfectly average time to start the day on weekends. Not for vampires, I guess, since you are up all night anyway..."

So we agreed that Alice would pick us up at 10:00. After all that was decided, Edward offered to take me out to dinner. I quickly called Charlie to tell him I would be home around 8, and then Edward and I set out to get dinner.

Surprise, surprise, he took me to the restaurant in Port Angeles.

"Edward," I said on the way there, "I think we should call this restaurant 'our restaurant'" He eyed me questioningly and I continued. "Well, we have 'our meadow,' and 'our clearing' now...so I think that this should be 'our restaurant.'"

Edward smiled the crooked grin I love, and nodded in agreement.

When we reached the restaurant, everyone inside stared at me. _Stupid scars_ I thought. Edward chuckled, and I knew he could tell what I was thinking by my expression. We were seated by a hostess who eyed Edward with a bit too much kindness for my likes, but whenever any woman gave him any special treatment, he would kiss me or make some comment about my ring. I didn't' mind—the more kisses I got, the better.

Luckily, we had a waiter and not a waitress. After dinner, though, Edward told me that the waiter, whose name was Timothy, was gay. I think I laughed for 5 minutes when I heard that. Not because "haha, he's gay!" but because it was just our luck that we finally thought we would have peace and quiet, but then our waiter turns out to be gay.

"What was he thinking?" I asked Edward on the ride home.

"Oh, the usual stuff. _Oh, he is so gorgeous! That girl is so lucky, she is going out with him! Oh my gosh, she is wearing a ring. They're engaged! Not fair!_" He said in a shrill, high pitched voice. He grinned, and I began laughing again.

"Well, I am pretty lucky," I said. "I am engaged to the most handsome, sweet, caring gentleman I have ever met, who also has the most...interesting...family."

"Yes, but he is a vampire, along with his 'interesting' family. A monster, an evil demon with no soul. Someone who is doomed to a life of darkness," he said. His light, happy mood was gone now. Even though we had both accepted that I was going to be a vampire, he still did everything he could to make me change my mind.

"You are not a monster. You're an angel," I replied, also completely serious now. "As and far as the 'soul' matter, well, we'll never know about that until we actually die, when and if that happens."

Edward sighed. Not in defeat, but in exasperation. "Isabella," he pronounced my name slowly and clearly, "will you ever believe me when I say that, yes, I am a monster?"

I shook my head. "No matter what you say or do, you will always be an angel to me," I said.

Now he sighed in defeat. He reached across me to open my car door, and I noticed we had arrived back at my house. I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car. In a moment, Edward was sitting next to me.

"Good night, my love," he said. "I'll be back in your room, well, your living room, at about 9:30."

"Good night, my angel," I said as I stood on my tip toes to give him a kiss. He grinned as we broke apart and then motioned me to the door. I walked into the house to see Charlie and Renee watching TV, both in awkward silence.

"Hey Mom, Dad," I said. They turned around and stood up to meet me. I told my mother about our plans to go shopping tomorrow, and then we all went off to bed.

I was sitting on the couch, reading, when I heard a tap on the window. I looked at the clock and saw that it said 9:15. He was early! I ran over to the window excitedly and opened it to let Edward in.

But the person looking at me through the window was not Edward.

* * *

**Oooooo. Cliffy. If you think you know who it is...then leave it in a review. If you guess it right then you will win...uh...a free... bamboo stick!! (inside joke...)**

**Please review!!!**

_**----By the way, I'm not going to be able to update again until Monday of next week, if not later. I'm going to globals for DI and we leave on the 23****rd****, and we won't get back till the 27****th****. Then I have to write a chapter and everything, and my parents hate it when im on the computer for long periods of time. So it might be a while...Sorry!!----**_

**Till next week—**

**-danielle-**


	27. Love, Edward

**Hey! For all you cool people who guessed right, here is your bamboo stick:**

**Go there and that is your bamboo stick! But actually, I don't think anyone got it right. It was hard. I was first planning on it having be someone, but then I changed it to someone else. So, ya. **

**Chapter 27**

_I was sitting on the couch, reading, when I heard a tap on the window. I looked at the clock and saw that it said 9:15. He was early! I ran over to the window excitedly and opened it to let Edward in. _

_But the person looking at me through the window was not Edward. _

I could faintly make out the shadow of a person coming through the window. It was a woman, but I couldn't tell her height or anything about her. I slowly backed away from my window, but tripped and ended up falling onto my couch. She came through my window, and I gasped.

"Rosalie," I breathed. "What are you doing here?" I asked her. If one of the Cullens were going to arrive at my house, I would've thought that at least Alice or even Emmett would've came, if Edward couldn't. But Rosalie? This was new.

She didn't have the usual angry scowl on her face as she looked at me. She actually looked worried. "Bella, we have to get out of here," she said.

"What?" I asked. She ran over to me and scooped me up into her arms.

"Theres not much time to explain," she said as she rushed me out of the house, back through the window.

"What about Renee and Charlie?" I asked as my house went out of sight.

"Esme is at your house, watching to make sure they don't get hurt," she said, as she continued running.

"Hurt?" I asked. "I'm still confused. What's going on? Why are you here? Why not Edward or Alice. No offense, but you're not the first person I would expect to see..." I trailed off.

"None taken Bella," she said, somewhat coldly. "But, to answer your first question. Well, Alice had a vision, that's why she couldn't come."

"What did she see?" I asked worriedly.

"Well, at first she saw Victoria—"

"Victoria!" I shrieked. My voice went up a few octaves, like it sometimes did when I was scared.

"Bella, calm down. The situation is under control. Alice only saw her planning something. But she didn't know when she was going to attack, or even where, so we all thought it would be better to just get you out of your house."

"But Charlie and my mother?" I asked, worried. If Victoria was planning on attacking my house, they wouldn't stand a chance.

"As I said, Esme is there, and Alice will definitely see if she is going to attack your house. If Alice does see this, then we will send more people to your house. Don't worry, Bella, everything is fine." Something about the way she said that made me doubtful. She didn't sound like she totally believed that everything was fine. It worried me.

We arrived at the Cullen's house a few minutes later. I saw that it was completely empty.

"Um, Rosalie, where is everybody?" I asked her.

"They're...um...hiding. Ya. Hiding. In the basement. Which is where I'm supposed to bring you," she said. Basement? I didn't know the Cullen's had a basement. Rosalie dragged me towards a door, opened it, and flung me into a room.

Then the door closed, and the room became completely dark. I could tell that Rosalie hadn't followed me into the room, and I could also tell that there was no one else in the room. "Hello...?" I said, just to be sure. "Edward? Alice?" As I expected, nobody answered. I felt along the wall of the room to see if I could find a light switch. There wasn't one. Maybe there was a light bulb on the ceiling with a chord to turn it on. I reached around in the air until I found a string. I pulled it, and the room was flooded with light.

I took a minute to take in the room. I had never been in it before. It reminded me of a cellar crossed with a small closet. It was damp, and I smelled like wet concrete and mold. The walls and floor were made of concrete, and I could tell it was very old. It wasn't very large, only about 15 feet by 10 feet big.

This place creeped me out. I stood up, but found I had to duck because the ceiling was so low. I walked over to the door and turned the handle, but found that it was locked. I pounded on the door and began to yell.

"Rosalie! Rosalie! Hello! Somebody?" I sighed and stopped yelling. "Anybody..." I said one last time, not expecting an answer. Great. I was locked in here.

I turned around to look around at the rest of the room. There was a small wooden bench against the wall across from the door. On the wall next to it, there was a small box that looked like a cooler. I opened it and saw that it was filled with ice and water bottles. Why the Cullens would have a cooler filled with water bottles in a room was beyond me.

On the wall across from the cooler, there was a shelf that reached up to the low ceiling. I stood up to walk over to it. On the shelf was a book with no title, a pair of pants and a shirt, a bag of bread, an apple, an orange, a cell phone, and a white envelope. I looked closer at the envelope and saw that it had my name on it. I carefully picked it up and opened it.

_Bella-_

_I'm sure you are very confused right now. Don't worry, everything is fine. Alice had a vision about Victoria. What Rosalie told you wasn't totally true. Alice actually saw Victoria attacking you and, well, you get the rest. We all agreed that we had to make sure you were someplace safe until Victoria was taken care of. I'm sure you're thinking that Victoria could easily get into this room. Well, that's where Jasper's genius idea comes in. He designed this room in case there was ever an emergency and we needed to hide. We never thought we would have to use it for a human. _

_Please follow these instructions carefully. Walk over to the cooler and open it up. You will see a lot of ice, and a few water bottles. Take the water bottles out, and then tip the cooler upside down to get the ice out. At the bottom of the cooler is a small key. Take it out, and then walk over to the shelf. If you push it to the left a little bit, you will see a key hole that was hidden behind it. Put the key into the key hole, and turn it to the right. You should hear a clicking noise. When you hear that, you can take the key out. Then push the wall, and it should swing open. The room behind the door is the safe place that you should stay in. I would suggest taking the food and water with you into the room, and the clothes, in case you get uncomfortable in what you're wearing._

_One of us will come and check in on you at about 11:30. The cell phone is there in case you need to call us. All of our numbers are in it. _

_Don't be scared. Don't worry. The situation is under control. Everything will be fine. I love you. _

_Love, Edward_

_P.S. If you get bored, there are a lot of games on the phone. Feel free to buy any other games you want. _

I won't lie; I was scared out of my mind. Not only was there an evil vampire on the loose, but there was an evil vampire that was planning on killing me. I was stuck in a small room all by myself. Somewhere outside, my fiancée, my future sisters, future brothers, and future parents where battling the evil vampire and trying to kill her. And to top it all off, the room was very cold and I really had to go to the bathroom.

I followed Edward's instructions, shivering (from the cold and from fright) the whole time, and walked into the other room. I was happy to find that instead of being made of concrete, there was fuzzy beige carpet on the floor, and the walls were nicely painted. There was a comfy looking chair in the corner, along with a small bed and a desk. There was the same kind of light bulb hanging from the ceiling. I turned it on, and then walked over and sat down on the bed. I found that there was another note on the pillow.

_Bella-_

_Don't forget to move the shelf back and close the door so no one can find you. Also, there might be some books in the drawer of the desk. I'm sorry we had to do this, but it was the only way we thought you would be safe. _

_I'll see you at 11:30. I love you. _

_Love, Edward_

That was when I broke down and cried.

**Ya so if you guessed Rosalie, here is your bamboo stick.**

**I said, nobody got it right. At first I was planning on having it be Victoria, but I changed my mind since I realized she wouldn't tap on the window, and it was too stupid. **

**I know, short chapter, and I know I promised you one on Monday. I'm sorry! I've been really busy, with final projects, tests, and all that stuff. Also, I couldn't get into this chapter. It was hard to write for some reason.**

**Hopefully when summer comes, I'll be able to write more. But I won't make any promises...**

**Next chapter out...um...later...**

**Please review!!**

**-danielle-**

**--ps: i just realized that the bamboo stick doesnt show up. if you want me to then tell me in a review and ill put the link into my profile...--**


	28. breathe

**Kind of a short chapter. Sorry. But I think it's REALLY good. Maybe I'm just too optimistic. Idk. Whatever. Read. Please review. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, as much as I want to. **

**Chapter 28**

_Bella-_

_Don't forget to move the shelf back and close the door so no one can find you. Also, there might be some books in the drawer of the desk. I'm sorry we had to do this, but it was the only way we thought you would be safe. _

_I'll see you at 11:30. I love you. _

_Love, Edward_

_That was when I broke down and cried. _

I glanced down at the clock on the cell phone again. It now said 11:47.

Where was he? Was he hurt? And what about the rest of the Cullens? Why hadn't one of them came, or even called. Are they hurt? What was going on?

11:48.

I couldn't take this much longer. I was nervous. I kept standing up, then sitting back down, and then standing up again. I was pacing. I couldn't sit still. Where is he? What happened to them?

11:49.

Maybe I should call them. I opened my cell phone, but then closed it again. I didn't want to be disappointed. If I called and no one answered, I would make myself even more nervous. I tried to resist from calling. I stood up and walked over to the desk. I opened the drawer and put the phone in it. Then I walked back over to the bed and sat down.

A moment later, I stood up again. I began pacing back and forth in front of the bed. I walked over to the wall and began to gently hit my head against it. I stopped a moment later, and rubbed my forehead.

I walked over to the chair and sat down. I crossed my legs. I uncrossed them. I crossed them the other way. I uncrossed them. I pulled them up to my chest and rested my feet on the chair. I wrapped my arms around my knees. I laid my head down on my knees. I lifted my head up. I moved my legs back down. I crossed my legs again.

Where is he? Is he safe? Is he hurt? Is he dea—

No. I couldn't think that. He's fine. He's just busy. He's safe. He isn't hurt or anything. He's fine.

I uncrossed my legs. I leaned back in the chair. I began to tap my foot. Then I tapped the other foot. Then I tapped both feet. I stood up and began pacing again. I couldn't stand it. I stood up and grabbed the cell phone from out of the drawer.

11:51.

I pressed and held 1, the speed dial number for Edward's cell phone. After it rang 4 times, I heard a voice.

"Hello, you have reached Edward's—"

"Edward?!" I shrieked into the phone. Then I realized it was only his answering machine. I closed the phone without leaving a message.

I sat back down on the bed, with the cell phone still in my hand. I laid down on my side, and then curled up like a ball. I closed my eyes. I tried to cry. Crying always seemed to help. I had no tears left.

Why didn't he answer? There was no way he would ignore my call on purpose. So the only logical explanation for him not answering was that he was that he couldn't get to his phone. So he could either be busy with Victoria, he could be hurt and Carlisle could be healing him, or he could be dea...dea...dea...

...Dead...

I tried to breathe. It was difficult. No air came in. No air went out. I gasped for breath. There was no oxygen around me. I was going to die. I was going to die because I ran out of oxygen. At least I would be with Edward soon.

No. Edward is not dead. Edward is alive. He and the rest of the Cullens are out fighting Victoria.

Breathe, Bella. Breathe. It was no use. There was still no oxygen.

If Edward was alive, then why didn't he answer my call? He would never ignore my call. In the back of my mind I knew that I had another good reason for him not answering his phone, but I couldn't remember it. The tiny voice in the back of my head was screaming it to me, but fear took over. I couldn't think logically anymore. Fear was taking over my mind, and all that I could think about was that fear.

He would never ignore my call.

Breathe, Bella.

The only reason he wouldn't answer his phone at a time like this is if he was...he was...

Breathe.

...If he was...

"No..." I somehow managed to whisper. The room around me started spinning. Everything started to go black.

I was dying. Dying from lack of oxygen. From not breathing.

Breathe.

Edward was dead. He wouldn't ignore my call. He said he would be here at 11:30. It was 11:50.

Dead.

Breathe.

"No..."

Breathe.

Dead.

"Edwa..."

Breathe.

I couldn't.

I was dying.

I would be with Edward.

We would both be dead.

The room was spinning.

He wouldn't ignore my call.

Black coming over my eyes.

Breathe.

Dead.

"No..."

I fell onto the ground.

I was struggling.

Death was coming.

We would be together.

A pressure was pushing against my throat and my lungs.

I couldn't breathe.

He wouldn't ignore my call.

He must be dead.

Dead.

"No..."

"Breathe, Bella, breathe!" I heard a distant voice cry.

"Edward..." I said with my last breath.

**Ahhhhhhhh!!**

**Review please**

**-danielle-**


	29. Edward?

**Another really short chapter. I'm making it short on purpose. It adds to the suspense ;-) **

**Disclaimer: don't own it. **

**Chapter 29**

_I couldn't breathe. _

_He wouldn't ignore my call. _

_He must be dead._

_Dead._

"_No..."_

"_Breathe, Bella, breathe!" I heard a distant voice cry. _

"_Edward..." I said with my last breath. _

"Breathe, Bella, breathe! Bella! No...Bella...please..."

I recognized that voice. I knew it from somewhere. How did I know that voice?

If only I could breathe and get oxygen to my brain so I could think properly.

I tried to breathe. It didn't work. I couldn't get the thought that Edward must be dead out of my head. There was no point in living if Edward was dead. I would not breathe. I would die with Edward. I would not breathe.

Breathe!

I won't breathe!

Breathe!

I won't breathe!

"Bella...please...no..." the same voice said again.

The voice belonged to someone I know...

"Please..."

...someone I care about...

"No..."

...someone I love...

"Breathe..."

...but who was it?

"Bella..."

Suddenly, his name hit the surface of my brain.

Edward.

He was alive.

"Edward!" I shrieked. Knowing that he was alive, along with yelling, made me breathe.

The room stopped spinning. The blackness lifted from over my eyes.

I looked around and noticed that I was lying down on the floor.

"Edward...?" I said as I looked around for him.

Except for me, the room was empty. "Edward...?" I asked again. I knew it was hopeless. He wasn't here. I had been right. He was gone. Hearing his voice was just like it had been earlier this year. A hallucination. He wasn't here. He was gone. He was dead.

Dead.

The room started spinning again.

**Muhaha! Just when you think everything is ok, it gets bad again!!**

**Please review**

**-danielle-**


	30. 3 down, 4 to go?

**Yay!**

**Disclaimer: don't own it. You know what, I'm done with disclaimers. I'm not going to do them anymore. They're just annoying. **

**Chapter 30**

_Except for me, the room was empty. "Edward...?" I asked again. I knew it was hopeless. He wasn't here. I had been right. He was gone. Hearing his voice was just like it had been earlier this year. A hallucination. He wasn't here. He was gone. He was dead. _

_Dead._

_The room started spinning again. _

Everything started going black. I was about to give up again, when I heard a strange noise coming from the bed. I sounded like a song. Or more, a tune. A happy, joyful, upbeat tune.

What was it?

I made the room stop spinning and forced myself to breathe. I stood up and walked over to the bed, trying to figure out what was creating this happy, upbeat sound.

I saw the cell phone lying on the pillow. Ringing.

I looked at the caller ID. It said _Alice_.

I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Bella!?" she shrieked. She sounded overjoyed.

"Yes," I said, confused.

"Oh my gosh, Bella, you're alive!"

"Um...I know..."

"I had a vision about you! You lying on the ground with your eyes closed, and looked like you were wriggling in pain. And you kept gasping for breath, but it looked like you were having trouble breathing. And you kept muttering something. 'No,' is what I think it was."

"Oh, ya..."

"Why were you like that?" she asked.

"Well, I..." and then I stopped, remembering the situation. "Wait, Alice. What is going on!? Why aren't you here!? It's almost 12:00 and you said you would be here at 11:30!"

The other line of the phone was silent.

"Alice...?" I asked. No answer. Then I heard another voice. A voice I recognized.

"You'll never see them again. Never!" Then the line went dead.

It was a voice I had never wanted to hear again.

Victoria.

"No!" I yelled into the phone. I knew it was useless. I know it wouldn't do anything. But it was all I could do. I closed the phone and dropped it on the bed. I kneeled down next to the bed and started banging my fist on the mattress. 

"No..." I said each time my fist hit the mattress. "No...no...no...no..."

How could I just sit here when I knew that not far away, Victoria was probably torturing Alice? Maybe even in the process of killing her. With that in my mind, I stood up and walked to the door. I stopped and sighed as I reached for the handle. I knew that if I tried to help, I'd probably just get hurt and end up making the situation even worse. There was no way I could take on a vampire, especially Victoria.

How could she be so cruel? No one in the Cullen family did anything wrong. Well, I guess they did, but it was mostly my fault. They shouldn't have to suffer for something that I did wrong.

I walked back over to the bed and reached for the cell phone again. I put in the number of the person I never thought I would call.

Speed dial: 7. Rosalie.

She didn't answer.

Could she be dea—

No. Not her too.

Speed dial: 6. Emmett.

No answer.

Speed dial: 5. Esme.

No answer.

Speed dial: 4. Carlisle.

No answer.

Speed dial: 3. Jasper.

No answer.

I didn't bother trying speed dial 2. I knew Alice wouldn't answer. Victoria probably crushed her phone. I tried not to think about what could be happening to Alice right now. But I couldn't help it.

She could be dead.

My best friend, dead.

I fell onto the bed and began to cry. Only one thought ran through my head.

_Not her. Not her. Not her._

I don't know how long I sat there, crying. After a while, I sat up and wiped my tears away. Crying didn't help anything. And for all I knew, Alice could still be alive. She could be fine.

Who was I kidding. Victoria attacked her. There was no way...

No. I wouldn't think like that. I would look on the positive side of everything.

But even as I reached for my phone, thinking positively, I knew in the back of my mind that Alice was gone.

I tried one last number.

Speed dial: 1. Edward.

It rang once.

Twice.

Three times.

"Hello?"

"Edward!?" I screamed into the phone.

"Um, sorry Bella, this is Jasper," the voice said.

"Where's Edward!?" I yelled into the phone.

He ignored my question, but started to talk very fast.

"Sorry no one is there. We can't get ourselves away from the battle. Victoria brought 7 people with her."

"Where is Edward?" I asked again.

"Oh, um, well, he's..."

He stopped. I heard a crashing noise in the background. Then I heard ferocious snarling coming from the phone.

I heard voices in the background. One, I recognized to be Jasper, and the other I wasn't so sure about. It must have been one of the 7 people Victoria brought with her.

"You know that you will never win this," I heard Jasper say. I heard the other person laugh.

"No?" he said tauntingly. I heard the ferocious snarling again, and then I heard another crashing noise.

"Jasper!" I yelled. Not into the phone, expecting anyone to hear me, but in horror. Then I heard two more voices. I could tell that one of them was Emmett, and the other must be the vampire he was fighting.

How could I manage to simply sit in this small, protected room and listen to all these horrible things going on around me?

"Give up!" I heard one of the vampires roar.

"Never!" the other shouted. I couldn't tell who said what.

I heard what sounded like ripping. I heard the triumphant laugh of two vampires. I couldn't tell if it was Emmett and Jasper, or the two who were on Victoria's side. Then I heard crackling. I realized that it was a fire. One of the vampires was dead.

And I didn't know from which side they were.

I heard a crashing noise again, and what sounded like a door being slammed shut. Then I heard what sounded like someone picking up the phone.

"Jasper? Emmett?" I asked.

The person on the other line laughed. He had an evil, cackling laugh. It scared me. It sounded like something straight from a horror movie. Then he spoke.

"You'll never see them again."

The line went dead.

**2 down, 5 to go? 3 down, 4 to go? How many of the Cullens have died so far? Is Edward still alive? Will everything turn out ok? Tune in to the next chapter of **_**Before and After**_** to find out!!**

**I think I'm only going to have a few more chapters after this. I will have a sequel—don't worry!!**

**Till next time**

**-danielle-**


	31. no one left to save you

**520 reviews!! Omg!! **

**Ok, so I got this flame from an anonymous reviewer:**

_**I do realize this is fanfiction but this story does Stephenie Meyer's no justice. It started out alright but now it is absolutely ridiculous. Your grammer isn't very good and your random spurts of idiocy just make me wonder why so many people reviewed your story. The characters are way out of character and too many rules have been bent. Sorry to say but you should really improve your writing and before you go and compare yourself to Stephenie Meyer's, I'd think again.**_

**I want to reply to the person who wrote this, but since it was anonymous I kinda can't. Anyway, here's what I want to say to whoever left this... (sorry to everyone else for having to read this. You can just skip it if you didn't leave the review)**

**Number 1: I, in ABSOLUTLEY NO WAY think my writing skills compare in any way to Stephenie Meyer. (I think that's what they meant with the "**_**and before you go and compare yourself to Stephenie Meyer's, I'd think again.**_**" That didn't make sense. And this person says I have bad grammer!? ;-) just kidding. Kinda) Stephenie is an AMAZING author who deserves to be worshiped. If anywhere I said anything that implied that I thought my writing was even in the same league as hers, I apologize. She is incredible and, compared to her writing, mine looks like that of a 2 year old.**

**Number 2: I'm sorry about the bad grammar that I apparently have. (you spelled "grammar" wrong in the flame, by the way...) I do read over my chapters three times before I post them and usually have another person review them before they are posted, but I know I could have missed things. I just finished 8****th**** grade, therefore I do not know everything about grammar. So, sorry about those mistakes.**

**Last but not least: I'm sorry that "The characters are way out of character and too many rules have been bent."****I sometimes realize after I post a chapters that one of the characters seem very out of character, or I made a mistake and what I wrote is something that wouldn't actually happen. Actually, there are a lot of chapters that I would LOVE to go back and completely re-write, if not delete because they are so horrible, but I know that would be stupid. For example, I realize now that Jacob wouldn't actually hurt Bella like that because he DOES have control when in wolf form (I thought he didn't before, but that has been clarified by the Twilight Lexicon FAQ, I think.) So, I'm sorry that those mistakes have been made.**

**So, overall, I'm sorry this person is disappointed with my story. For everyone else, I'm sorry you had to endure this rant. Just a note for everyone else who would like to flame, please don't make it anonymous next time so I don't have to waste an entire page with responding to your flame. I'm sure the rest of the readers don't want to have to read this. Sorry for taking up everyone's time with this...**

**Now, here's the story!**

_**Note: people who are very squeamish or easily grossed out might not want to read this chapter...there is some kinda gross stuff in it. If you read it anyway and then feel sick, don't say I didn't warn you...**_

**Chapter 31**

"_Jasper? Emmett?" I asked._

_The person on the other line laughed. He had an evil, cackling laugh. It scared me. It sounded like something straight from a horror movie. Then he spoke._

"_You'll never see them again." _

_The line went dead._

"No..." I whispered. The person's words replayed over and over in my mind.

_You'll never see them again._

_You'll never see them again._

_You'll never see them again._

"Emmett...Jasper..." I whispered. I fell down onto the bed, unable to move. I didn't cry. I simply sat there in shock.

_You'll never see them again._

Jasper and Emmett, gone. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. Never to see Jasper's angelic face ever again. Never to hear Emmett's booming laugh when I tripped or blushed or did some other stupid human thing.

And what about Alice and Rosalie? Their husbands, dead. What would they be like? They would be heartbroken. They probably wouldn't speak, or move, or do anything for days. But, for all I knew, they could be dead right now too.

My entire soon-to-be family was being killed. The ones who weren't were probably being tortured. I had to get out of here. I couldn't just stay in here, completely safe, and have it all these bad things happen around me without doing anything about it.

I attempted to stand, but I couldn't. I was still in shock. My body wouldn't respond to anything. The words were still replaying in my head.

I thought about Emmett and Jasper. I couldn't imagine a world without them.

But they were gone. Gone from my life. They died trying to save me.

I thought about that for a minute. They risked their lives when they went out to fight Victoria. They knew that they could die. But they fought anyway.

It just wasn't fair. No one should've had to die because of me. I'm just a worthless human. Because of me, the Cullen family was being torn apart.

With that thought in my mind, I managed to stand. I had to get out to the battle and do something about this.

I was almost to the door when my phone rang again. I was about to ignore it, but then I realized that it might be Edward. I ran and grabbed it before the answering machine got it.

"Hello?" I breathed.

"Bella?" a woman on the other line asked.

"Esme!" As excited as I was to hear from her, my voice still sounded dead. Lifeless. Esme noticed.

"Bella, I'm so sorry no one has come!" she apologized.

"It's ok, Esme. I talked to Jasper and he said—" I stopped. Jasper.

"Bella...honey...?" Esme asked after I was silent for a moment.

"Jasper...Emmett..." was all I could say.

"What about them, honey?" Esme asked, full of concern.

"They're...they're...d...d..." Before I could finish, I heard a knock on the door. It wasn't on the door to the small room I was in, but a knock on the main door.

"I know you're in there!" a shrill, female voice shrieked. Victoria.

"Bella, don't say anything," Esme warned. She must've heard Victoria through the phone.

"Open up, Bella!" Victoria yelled again.

"Bella, whatever you do, don't make a sound," Esme said again. I heard a crashing noise, and realized that Victoria must've broken down the door. I backed away from the bed, and to the wall farthest from the door. But as I was walking backward, I tripped over the chair.

Silence.

Then I heard a noise like fingernails on a chalk board. Victoria was moving the shelf away from the secret door. She heard me. Then there was a banging noise on the door.

"I know you're there, Bella! Now, be a good girl and open up this door. I promise I won't kill you right away. Come on, Bella. You'll be with your dear Edward soon..." she taunted.

Edward.

"Yes, your sweet Edward is dead. Along with his pathetic sister, Alice, and his brothers. Emmett and Jasper. Don't you want to be with them? Your fiancée? Your best friend? Open the door and you can be with them..."

Esme spoke quickly into the phone. "Bella, she's bluf—"

Before she could finish, I heard another banging noise. A creaking sound. Another bang. The sound of wood being broken in two. Then the sound of something being ripped off its hinges. The next second, the door was gone. And Victoria was standing there, with her red hair sticking up at all angles. She had a vicious gleam in her dark black eyes, wild with the want to kill.

"Hello, my dear. It's been too long..." she said as she sauntered towards me. In a second, she ran past me, grabbed the cell phone, and was back where she started. She looked at the phone, laughed, and the brought it up to her ear.

"Hello, my dear Esme. Don't bother fighting anymore. I have Bella right where I want her. There is no need for you to lose anymore of your family members." She waited while Esme said something back to her. "Oh, don't worry about that, honey," she continued. "It's all been taken care of. Oh, and you might want to say goodbye to Bella while you can."

Victoria walked over to me and placed the phone up to my ear. I heard Esme yelling something very quickly, but I couldn't understand any of it. After a second or two, Victoria pulled the phone back to her own ear. She walked over towards the desk.

"Have a nice night," she said as she closed the phone. Then she dropped it on the desk, and crushed it with one finger.

She turned to me.

"How nice to see you again, Bella," she said. She crept back over to me. She put her hands on the top of my head, and slowly moved them down my face. Almost as if she was trying to seduce me. I knew it must be one of her torture techniques. She ran her long, white, cold fingers over my cheeks and down to my jaw.

I tried very hard not to scream.

When she got to my neck, she stopped. She looked like she was contemplating something, but then continued to run her hands down over my shoulders. She stopped as she got to my fingertips.

In one swift movement, she was on the other side of the room. I still hadn't moved from the spot I was in when she first entered the room. Fear gripped me, and I couldn't even think about moving, much less running away. Even if I tried, I knew she would catch me without any effort.

"An entire year I've waited to kill you," she said as she began to circle around me. "First, you had for vampire friends protecting you," she said as she approached me again. "Then, they left. Oh, how happy I was on that day. I knew I could have you at last." She placed her hand on my shoulder, and continued to walk around me, running her hand along behind my neck, onto my other shoulder, onto the front of my neck, and then back to the shoulder she had started on.

"Then, when I thought I could finally have you, I sent Laurent here to check up on how things were going in Forks, Washington. I never got a report back from him. I figured he just ran away, the cowardly fool." She stopped circling me and ran my hand down my arm. "Little did I know that he was killed. Killed by the vilest creatures to ever walk this earth." She stopped and looked at me. She looked like she was expecting me to answer a question. "The vilest creatures on the earth. Come on, Bella, I know you know what they are."

She was expecting an answer. I remained silent.

"Say it with me," she said. "Were. Wolves."

I didn't say anything.

"Say it, Bella!" she commanded. I still remained silent. I would not give in to her and give her what she wanted. "Say it!" she yelled. When I didn't respond, she reached for my right hand. She grabbed my index finger and pulled it back violently. I heard a crack. She broke my finger.

I screamed.

"Say it," she said. This time she didn't yell. She said it soothingly, like a mother would talk to a child. She reached for my middle finger on my right hand, and I spoke.

"Werewolves," I gasped. She grinned triumphantly.

"Very good," she said. I felt excruciating pain again. She had broken my middle finger, even though I did what she wanted. "Now you know what happens when you don't listen to me," she said, still in the same soothing tone. "Just be happy this time it was only a finger."

I held my right hand with my left. I tried not to think about the pain. It hurt so badly. I made the mistake of looking down at my hand.

There was bone sticking out of both my fingers. I tried to look away, but I had already seen. The image was burned into my eyes.

I vomited right there on the ground. Victoria chuckled.

"A little squeamish, are we?" she asked sweetly. I looked at her, disgusted. A moment later, I knew it was a mistake. "Don't give me that look," she said as she walked back over to me. The grabbed my ring finger on the same hand, and broke it too.

The pain was awful. I couldn't take it. I tried not to scream. I couldn't give her what she wanted. She wanted to see me in pain. She wanted to see me suffer. I wouldn't give her that.

"So, where were we in our story?" she asked, as if everything that she had just done to me never happened. "Oh, yes, with the vilest creatures on the earth. The..." she trailed off, waiting for me to complete her thought.

I thought of the pain in my fingers. I decided to cooperate. "Werewolves," I muttered.

"What was that?" she asked sweetly.

"Werewolves," I said a little louder.

"Yes, the werewolves. The wolves were a bit of an issue," she said as she examined her arm. I saw that there was a scar on it. "Those dogs don't deserve to be on this earth," she said, full of anger. Then she turned back to me. "The wolves," she said, completely calm and happy sounding again, "made everything a bit more difficult. But look at me now. Even with the wolves, and with your 'family' back, I still managed to get to you. How wonderful is that?" She smiled. "And I managed to get rid of four extras too."

I thought of Emmett, Jasper, Alice, and (with a wince) Edward. The "four extras" she spoke of. She was just like James. This was just a silly little game to her. A game that she thought she couldn't lose.

I thought, with a sigh, that she was probably right. There was no way the Cullens could win this battle with only Esme, Rosalie, and Carlisle. And I was as good as dead right now anyway. They might as well give up now.

"And now, with half of the family gone and no one left to save you, you will die."

She sauntered over to me. She put her hands on my shoulders and then violently pushed me back against the wall. I fell to the floor, and I could feel pain on every part of my body. I saw blood gushing from a cut on my arm. Victoria smelled it, and knelt down next to me. She ran her finger over the cut, and then stuck it in her mouth, sucking on the blood.

"You do taste delicious," she said, commenting on my blood. "I can see why your sweet Edward wanted to be around you so often. But I'll guess he'll never know how you really taste. When you join him, you can tell him that it's better than he could imagine."

She did something unexpected then. She reached for my hand, and helped me stand up. I looked at her, confused, and she smiled. "Just wanted to help out someone in need," she said sweetly. I guessed that the personality switching was part of the torture.

I opened my mouth to ask her a question, but decided against it. She turned away from me and walked towards the door. She grabbed something from off the shelf, examined it, and then set it back down. I saw that it was another apple. I guess I hadn't took both of the ones the Cullen's had left for me.

"How you humans could ever like this..." she muttered to herself. Then she turned around to face me. In one swift movement, she was by my side once more. She reached down for my hand. It was my left hand, the undamaged one. I braced myself for the pain that I knew was coming, and then felt a pain beyond what I imagined. I looked down at my hand and saw that she had not broken my fingers.

She had broken my wrist. There was a white bone sticking out of it too.

The pain was unbearable. I squirmed around in place. I tried not to scream. I didn't hold out for long. I let out a scream. I felt the tears falling down my face.

"Oh...are you like a two year old?" Victoria taunted. "You cry when you get hurt?"

I glared at her, not caring about what she would do to me. I had already experienced great pain. All else she could to do me was kill me, and that would only be a benefit. I would be with Edward.

"How could you be so cruel?" I asked. She laughed.

"With much practice," she answered simply. She pushed me against the wall again. I landed on my side, and felt more blood rushing out of more cuts. Then she kicked me in the stomach. I knew she didn't use all her strength—if she did, I would surely be dead.

She knelt down next to me again. She lifted me up, so I was sitting. She brushed my hair out of my face. Then she said what I knew to be the final words I would hear before I died.

"Nobody left to save you..."

**Please review!**

**Oh, and one more thing. Sorry this chapter is so creepy, (with the whole Victoria-torture-seduction-thing) sorry this is getting so morbid, and sorry about the death. Many people have reviewed saying that they are very angry with me cuz some of the Cullens might be dead. I'm sorry for this. I'm not going to tell you if they are actually dead cuz that would be stupid, but I just want to say sorry you guys are upset with me. And yes, I know, this chapter was VERY morbid, with the whole finger-bone-wrist thing. But come on, it's Victoria. What else do you expect??**


	32. you believe

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**Chapter 32**

_She knelt down next to me again. She lifted me up, so I was sitting. She brushed my hair out of my face. Then she said what I knew to be the final words I would hear before I died._

"_Nobody left to save you..."_

I waited. I waited for death.

I guess it wouldn't be too awful. How much more painful could it be than the pain I was experiencing right now? That was the only real thing I was worried about. The fact that I would be dead didn't worry me at all, actually. I believe in some sort of afterlife. And I believe that vampires, even though they do bad things, really are good inside. I believe they would be given the same chance at an afterlife that humans are. Therefore, I would see Edward, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper soon.

My family.

I wasn't frightened of leaving the world behind at such a young age. Everything I wanted to do on earth, I could still do in the afterlife. I would be with Edward forever, and that's all I really want.

Victoria examined my face. "You're not scared," she commented. I shook my head. "Why not?" she questioned.

I shrugged. "How much worse can death be than this?" I asked. "You've already caused me great pain, so that won't be an issue. And I'm not worried about leaving behind people I love, because the love of my life will be waiting for me."

She looked very amused. "You don't believe that, as vampires, we've lost our souls?" the concept seemed ridiculous to her.

"Nope," I said. "I believe that some vampires have lost their souls, but not all of them. Edward was a good, kind, caring person. His heart was full of love. He wasn't evil, or anything even close. He wouldn't lose his soul. You, on the other hand..." I trailed off. Even though I didn't fear the pain anymore, I still didn't want to experience it again.

Victoria laughed. "You just keep believing that, honey. It'll help you as you die. But, when you're up there, looking for your sweet Edward, don't get upset when you don't find him."

"I will find him," I insisted. She simply shrugged.

"Whatever you want to believe," she said.

The next second, without any warning, I felt her razor sharp teeth sinking into my neck.

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**Please review! Please please please! **

**I know I said there wasn't much left, but I think there will be like 5 more chapters still. I'll try to get one out every day (I'll actually be able to do that since its summer now!)**

**Till next time**

**-dani-**


	33. sooner than you think

**sorry this took so long. i'm visiting my grandparents and i couldn't get a internet connection until now. whatever. heres the next chapter!**

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"_I will find him," I insisted. She simply shrugged._

"_Whatever you want to believe," she said. _

_The next second, without any warning, I felt her razor sharp teeth sinking into my neck. _

The pain was unbearable. Her breaking my fingers and my wrist before was nothing compared to this. I couldn't hold in a scream. As I screamed, Victoria tore her mouth away from my neck, something I didn't expect her to have the control do to.

"Shut up, you filthy, pathetic human!" she yelled. I stopped screaming immediately, but the pain was still there. It was like a knife was pushed into my neck. And to make it worse, I was now bleeding, and I could smell the blood pulsing out of my neck. Apparently, Victoria smelled it to, because she suddenly perked up and sniffed the air. She leaned down and I felt her teeth pierce into my flesh once again.

The scent was overpowering. The pain was worse than I could've ever imagined. But I did not cry out again. One thought overpowered all of the other pains and awful things happening to me.

Edward. Edward. Edward.

His name played over and over in my mind. Thinking of him was all that kept me strong. And so because of this, I did not scream.

After what seemed like hours of agonizing pain, but I knew to only be less than a minute, I began to feel lightheaded and weak. Victoria somehow managed to pull away from my neck and my blood once more. I was, yet again, surprised by the control she had. She looked me in the eyes and grinned.

I saw that her eyes were now bright red.

"How does it feel now, Bella? So close to death..." her fingers brushed along my jaw. "So close to your sweet Edward. Or, so you think..." she grinned evilly.

"I...will...see...him..." I whispered, using all my strength.

"Oh, I have no doubt of that," she said. I was confused. But my head was throbbing and I felt pain throughout my whole body, and I couldn't think about what she meant. "You might just see him sooner than you think..." she continued. She turned to look at the door. "Bring them in," she yelled.

One by one, Edward, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper were pushed through the door. They were each held by two other vampires. I noticed that there were four vampires holding Emmett down.

As Edward saw me, he began to struggle. He was trying to escape. To save me.

I was in too much pain to even begin to understand what was going on. Or to care, really.

Victoria laughed as she saw Edward struggling. She walked over to him and slapped him. I didn't move. I didn't gasp, or cry out. I didn't react in any way. I was numb to everything that was going on around me. None of this mattered. I was going to die soon anyway. My last few minutes on this earth didn't matter anymore.

"I suppose you're wondering why your sweet Edward and his siblings are standing before you right now..." Victoria said as she turned back to look at me. Again, I didn't respond or react. She noticed. She looked angry.

"Why isn't she upset, boss?" one of the guys holding Alice asked.

"Ya, I thought you said she would be crying or screaming or something," one of the guys holding Emmett added.

"She should be," Victoria said, not taking her beady red eyes off of me. She walked back over to me. "What's up, hun? Decided you don't care about the love of your life anymore?"

I looked up at her. She looked angry. Very angry. I looked around the room. Emmett and Jasper were struggling to get free. Alice stood looking at me, confused and a little hurt. Edward's face was the most noticeable. He was struggling to get free, but he, like Alice, looked confused and hurt as well. But the most noticeable things about him were the cuts he had across his face and arms, and torso. His shirt was torn in many places, where cuts were showing through, and I could see a shiny liquid around all the cuts.

I was in to much pain to care.

The next second, I felt even more pain. I looked down at my leg, where the pain was coming from. Victoria had stepped on it, and it had snapped. Just like in Arizona a year ago. I didn't scream. Yes, it hurt, but I was too weak, too exhausted, and in too much pain from everything else to care about this new pain.

Suddenly, a huge burst of another kind of pain began to pulse through my body. It was even worse than the pain I was feeling before. I knew it must be the venom running through my bloodstream. I fell over, and out of the corner of my eyes I saw Edward struggling even more. But I didn't care about that right now. The pain was just so awful.

I was going to die. I was going to die and I would be all alone. Edward and the rest of the Cullens were still alive. But not me. I was going to die.

Everything I had told Victoria I wasn't frightened of, I was now terrified of. The pain was a million times worse than before. And I wouldn't have the love of my life with me when I died. I would be alone. And the fact that I was dying did frighten me now. I was leaving the earth. I was dying.

Dying.

The scent of my blood drifted to my nose once more. I had blocked it out before, but now it was coming back. The awful scent of rust and salt. With a small laugh, I remembered when Edward and I talked about that when I first came to Forks.

Wait, I laughed? What was happening to me? Why was I laughing?

I remembered when I had been in the hospital not long ago, and the painkiller medicines had made me crazy and do very strange things. I had laughed then too, even though I was in pain. Thinking of that made me laugh again.

I thought of all the people I would be leaving behind as I died. Charlie, Renee, Jacob, and the entire Cullen family. With a smile, I remembered some of the times Jacob and I had together. Working on his car in his garage, figuring out our ages, learning how to ride a motorcycle. I was going to miss him.

And Charlie, I was going to miss him, too. All the times I had come up to Forks when I was a little kid to visit him, the good times we had while I was living up here, and I would even miss the bad times. At least they were...times...

I realized, with a pang of sadness, that my life was flashing before my eyes. Not sadness because I was going to miss all the good times with the people I love, but sadness because I knew that this was something that happened to people right before they died.

I was dying. Really dying.

I remembered the good times I had with Renee. Living together in Arizona, and all the fun we had. Me growing up, and her having to take care of me. I laughed again as I realized that, most of the time, it was me taking care of her.

I thought about each of the Cullens in turn.

I remembered Alice and all our trips together, whether they were shopping trips, or epic trips like our trip to Volterra.

I remembered Jasper, and how, even though we weren't as close as I would've liked, we still had many fun times together.

I remembered Emmett, and his loud, booming laugh when I did something stupid.

I remembered Rosalie, and how I had just begun to maybe make progress with her.

I remembered Esme, and her motherly, loving care for me.

I remembered Carlisle, and how he had saved me countless times, and his positive outlook on life.

And, last, I remembered Edward.

That is when I began to cry again. Edward. I thought of all the wonderful, blissful times we had together. Taking me to his meadow, where we had first told each other our true feelings for one another. Playing baseball with him and his family. Running away from James, and how far he had gone to protect me. The perfect summer we had together. Him leaving (I began to cry even harder as I remembered this.) Alice and I going to Volterra to save him, and what I thought to be our last moments together in the sewers of Volterra. Him proposing to me (I began to cry even harder as I remembered.) And now this.

I realized that I would never see my Edward again. Never see his perfectly angelic face again. Never see his crooked smile, never hear his laugh, never hear him play the piano for me. Never drive in his Volvo with him again, never hear him make fun of my car.

Never visit the meadow with him.

Never marry him.

I would die alone. Without him. Without anyone.

I began to feel lightheaded again. I realized that Victoria had brought her mouth to my flesh again, and was drinking the rest of my blood. I faintly heard someone yelling out to me in the background.

"Bella! No! Bella!"

Edward.

"I...love...you..." I whispered. It took all of my strength. I wasn't even sure if he heard me.

Then I heard something I thought I never would.

Crying. And not the typical, dry sobs I was used to hearing from vampires, but real, true crying. With tears and all. And it was coming from Edward.

I didn't think it was possible. In fact, I knew it was impossible. But for some reason, it was happening. A vampire was really crying, with real tears.

"Bella..." Edward whispered between his sobs. "I love you..." he said.

It felt like those were the magic words. I knew we both loved each other. And this seemed to put my soul at rest. My body gave up at trying to fight death. I now let it come. I stopped trying to breathe. I let the pain come. I let the smell of rust and salt into my nose. Anything that would make the end come quicker, I welcomed with open arms.

And then the pain stopped. But I felt like I was falling. Falling through a black, endless hole. All I could see was darkness. I tried to open my eyes, to see where I was, but I realized they were already open.

And then, at the bottom of the endless hole, I saw a tiny prick of light. Like a small star. As I continued to fall, the star got bigger and bigger. When I thought I was close enough to reach out and touch the star, it disappeared.

And the pain came back.

And then it ended.

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**oooooooo. whats going to happen?!?!?!?!**

**next chapter out soon!**

**please review!**

**.:danielle:.**


	34. i don't care anymore, alice

**Yay! Next chapter!**

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**Chapter 34**

_And then the pain stopped. But I felt like I was falling. Falling through a black, endless hole. All I could see was darkness. I tried to open my eyes, to see where I was, but I realized they were already open. _

_And then, at the bottom of the endless hole, I saw a tiny prick of light. Like a small star. As I continued to fall, the star got bigger and bigger. When I thought I was close enough to reach out and touch the star, it disappeared. _

_And the pain came back._

_And then it ended. _

**Edward's POV**

"I...love...you..." I heard Bella whisper. It was barely audible to my own ears. She was in so much pain. So close to death. I was so close to losing my Bella.

I began to cry.

But something didn't feel right. My face felt...different. It felt...wet. I was crying tears.

This wasn't possible. Vampires couldn't cry.

But I didn't care that I was crying right now. Who gives a shit that I was crying. My Bella was dying. Dying. And I couldn't even do anything about it.

"Bella..." I whispered. "I love you..."

As I said that, I thought I saw her smile. Then her body went limp. Victoria triumphantly broke away from her neck, and stood up. She wiped the blood off her face, and turned to face all of us.

I saw the rest of my family break down too. They were all crying. But they didn't have tears steaming down their face. What was wrong with me?

I looked down at my Bella. Her skin, whiter than it had ever been. But she still looked beautiful.

I would never see her alive again. Never see her blush again. Never see her beautiful smile light up her face. We would never get married. I looked down at her hand and saw that she was wearing her ring. I also noticed that her wrist was broken.

I looked up at Victoria. She was still grinning.

"Victoria, you fucking goddamn bitch!" I yelled at her. She turned to look at me.

"Language, language..." she scolded.

I didn't stop yelling at her. "Go to hell! Do you hear me? You fucking bitch! Go to hell!"

She merely grinned. She walked over to Bella and took her ring off of her finger. She looked at it from every angle, admiring it. Then she took it and crushed it between two of her fingers.

"No!" I yelled. I didn't yell because the ring cost a lot of money, or anything foolish like that; I yelled because that was a symbol of our love. And now it was destroyed.

I struggled to get free.

"Victoria, you bitch!" This time, it was not me who was yelling. It was Alice. I turned to look at her. She was not one who swore often. Our eyes locked, and she thought something to me.

_Edward, I had a vision. Carlisle, Esme, and Rose are coming. They should be here soon. Don't worry. _

This did nothing to ease my pain.

"I don't care anymore, Alice, don't you see that! Bella is dead." I began to cry again. "She's dead...Alice. Gone."

Then I heard someone break down the door. I turned and saw Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie standing in the door way. In a second, I was free. No one except Alice and I had expected them to come.

After I was free, I fell to the ground. I crawled over to where Bella was laying. I picked her up and moved her away from everyone else. I sat down in a corner, and held her in my arms.

"Bella...no...please..." I whispered to her. The tears were back. One of them fell onto her cheek.

I did something I never thought I would. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer.

_God, if you exist, please help me._ I thought. _I need Bella. I need her. I don't know how I will be able to survive without her. So please, please help me. I need a miracle. I need her to survive this. Please, God. Please._

A moment later, Carlisle was at my side. Everyone else was standing behind me, looking down at Bella.

"They…others…are…all…dead…" Rosalie whispered. I looked up at her. She was crying.

And she had tears, too.

I realized that all of my family members now had tears streaming down their faces. One by one, they reached up and touched their faces. They felt the tears. They looked around to one another, confused. After a moment, I could tell they didn't care. They turned their attention back to Bella.

"Bella..." someone whispered. I couldn't tell who it was. I didn't turn around to find out. I didn't care.

Carlisle knelt down next to me, and reached out his hand. "Edward, can I take a look at her, please?" he asked gently.

"No!" I yelled at him. More tears fell down my face. I pulled Bella closer to me. "Get away from me! All of you!" I screamed at them. My family all looked at me, stunned.

"Edward..." Carlisle said.

"NO!" I yelled again. "No!" I backed away from them, and held Bella into my chest. "No..." I said. I was no longer screaming. "No...no...no..." it was barely a whisper. Carlisle held out his hands and moved closer to me. I looked up at him.

"Edward, please," he said. I saw that his topaz eyes were watering too, and his cheeks were wet with tears. I held Bella closer to me. Carlisle continued to stare at me.

Slowly, I began to release her. Carlisle nodded. He moved closer to me, and reached out his arms. I gently passed Bella to him.

I thought about her. All the incredible times we had together. She was so young—so full of life. And in only a matter of seconds, it was all taken away from her.

I began to hate myself. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't be dead right now. I should have never interfered in her life. I should have let her alone from the beginning. If I would have just stayed away from her, then she would be alive right now. Alive and well, and able to have a normal human life.

Jasper looked at me. "Edward..." he said. "If there was...anything...that could be done..."

I nodded.

_Do you want me to...you know...make you happier?_ He thought to me.

I shook my head. "I can't just numb this, Jasper," I said. He understood.

"Edward!" Carlisle cried out in excitement. I turned to look at him. A second later, Jasper perked up. He sniffed the air. And then he did something unexpected.

He lunged at Bella.

Carlisle and I both were able to grab him. Emmett came over to us and held him down. But Jasper would not stop struggling.

"No...blood..." he was saying. Suddenly, I perked up too.

I recognized that smell. It was so...good. So wonderful. Where did I know it from?

Then I realized. And I held my breath. Everyone else in my family realized it too. I heard no more breaths in the room, except for Jasper.

I looked around at everyone. They looked confused. I looked back at Carlisle, and he was grinning as he was looking at Bella.

"Edward...look..." he said. I looked down at where Victoria had bitten Bella. Around the cut in her neck, there was shiny venom, and another liquid.

It was red.

Blood.

Bella's blood.

"Carlisle...is...she...?" Esme asked slowly. Carlisle turned to us.

"I think so..." he said. I don't think his smile could have been any bigger. "Come on, we have to get her out of here," he said. I gently lifted Bella up and ran up to my room. I laid her down on the couch, and a moment later Carlisle joined me. Everyone else entered a second later, and we all stood around my couch. Everyone except Jasper.

"Bella...please..." I heard someone mutter. I looked up and saw it was Rosalie. _She can't be dead. She can't. She's the first good thing that's happened to Edward in a hundred years. She can't be dead. She has to be alive—for Edward's sake.. I…I don't want to lose her, _she thought. Our eyes met. We both nodded at each other, and she knew she was forgiven for everything.

I edged my way closer to Bella. I reached for her hand, and gently began to stroke the back of it. It wasn't as freezing as I had expected it to be, but it was still cold.

"Bella..." I whispered to her. "Bella...please don't leave me. I need you. I can't live without you." I looked at her beautiful face. "I love you."

I thought I saw her take a small, shallow breath.

"Carlisle...?" I asked. He was by my side in a moment, examining Bella.

"She's...breathing..." Emmett said, stunned.

"Bella..." I whispered. I stroked her hand again. "Bella...please..."

Her breathing became more prominent. I could tell they were definitely breaths.

I saw Bella take a real, true, normal breath. "Bella!" Alice yelled, full of excitement.

After Bella took three or four normal breaths, her eyes shot open. She searched around the room, confused, and after about a second our eyes met.

She looked scared. Very scared.

"Bella…" I whispered to her. Her eyes widened. She stared at me, as if analyzing every one of my features.

Another second later, she cried out. She started writhing in pain. I would have thought she was having a seizure, but her eyes were not rolled back into her head.

"No! The fire! The fire is back!" she was yelling. "Stop the fire!" She continued to squirm in pain, and Carlisle was holding her down.

"Edward, help me! She could hurt herself!" He directed. But I did not fully hear him. I could only stare, stunned, at my poor Bella.

I had wished to have her back. I had prayed for her to not leave me. And now my prayer had been answered. But I was not glad. I was angry in myself.

My prayer had just been a selfish gesture. I shouldn't have prayed. I should've let her move on. But I just had to have her back. And now she was alive, but in so much pain that it even hurt me to see it.

I should have just let her die. Death would be better than what she was about to go through.

She continued to writhe in pain. "Edward!" Carlisle said to me again. "Edward! Please help me!" I only stared at Bella, shocked at what I had forced her to go through.

After a moment, Alice rushed to Carlisle's side and helped him with Bella.

"What's happening to her?" Rosalie asked.

"Her transformation is beginning," Carlisle replied. "Victoria thought she killed her, but apparently she didn't drink all her blood. Either that, or her body makes new blood very quickly," he said, semi-joking.

"So…in three days…" Emmett trailed off. Carlisle nodded.

I turned away from everybody, and started to head for my door. I can't handle this.

"Edward…?" I heard Esme say as I walked towards the door. I ignored her. I continued to walk out of my room, down the stairs, and out of the house.

As I was running away from the house, I heard Bella scream in agony.

I did not turn around.

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**SHE'S ALIVE! OMG!**

**Geeze…and all you people thought I was going to kill all the Cullens and Bella. What kind of a person do you think I am!? I would NEVER kill ANY of them!!!!!!**

**ok i dont really like this chapter, so if you say it wasnt the best i will DEFINITELY agree with you. idk...i can never get Edward's POV down. its hard!!**

**Please review!**

**Next chapter out later...obviously**

**-danielle-**


	35. the transformation

**Ok...omg...i have 650 reviews. That's amazing. I NEVER expected this many. Its insane!**

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**Chapter 35**

**Alice's POV**

It killed me to have to see Bella like this. She's my best friend—my sister to be. But I did stay by her side, unlike my idiotic brother.

I know it was hard for him to see Bella in pain, but honestly. This is when Bella needed him the most. Almost every other word she cried was "Edward." I could tell she was always looking around for him. But she never found him.

On the first day, shortly after Edward left, we held a conference to decide what should be done about the situation. We knew that Charlie would come to our house looking for Bella soon if we didn't call him.

"What if we call Charlie, and tell him we haven't seen Edward either," Esme offered.

"But after a while, what would we tell him? 'Charlie, we haven't seen Edward anywhere! Oh, and not Bella either!' And then they're missing for the rest of eternity!?" scoffed Jasper.

"Do you have a better plan?" Rose snapped.

"Everyone, we have to remain calm," Carlisle interjected. "We must all keep our heads so we can work this out. I personally think that is an excellent plan." He turned to nod at Esme. "But, I can think of only one 'exit strategy.'"

"What is it?" Emmett asked. Carlisle looked around at all of us with a sad look.

"We'll have to fake their deaths, and then move away so we can start over," he said. None of us said anything. We all knew it was coming.

Suddenly, I remembered a vision I had a while ago. I thought it was us going on a road trip. When I thought about it more closely, I remembered that none of us looked very happy. And we had a lot more bags than I would've thought necessary for a road trip. It must have been us, leaving Forks.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked, noticing my expression.

I looked around at everyone. "That's the plan," I finally said.

"I'll call Charlie," Esme said, looking very sad. "He'll be heartbroken. Losing a child is awful…" she trailed off. She began to dry sob, unlike before when we had all cried tears. Nobody had said anything about that. Frankly, I don't think any of us cared.

Carlisle walked over to comfort her. He led her over to the couch and sat down. He pulled her onto his lap, and held her in his arms.

"It's ok…" he whispered as he began to rock her back and forth. She leaned her head in his shoulder and continued to sob. A few minutes later, she stood back up and composed herself.

"I'm alright…" she said. "I'm just…going to go...call Charlie...now…" she said between a few last sobs. She walked over to the phone and dialed.

"Charlie?" she said into the phone, her voice almost perfectly composed. "This is Esme Cullen. Carlisle and I were wondering, is Edward over at your house with Bella?" she listened for a while, and then spoke again. "Really? Yes, we haven't seen him since last night. No. Ok. We will. Goodbye." She hung up the phone. Then she got a distant look on her face, as she sunk down onto the floor and began to dry sob again.

I heard Bella cry out in pain. "Edward!! Edward!!" As I rushed upstairs to comfort her, I saw Carlisle wrap his arms around Esme once again.

If only Edward would be there for Bella like Carlisle is for Esme.

"Bella...?" I asked as I walked into Jasper and my room. We had moved Bella in here because there was a bed—it would be more comfortable for Bella.

"Alice! The fire! It's everywhere! Edward!" she whimpered. She closed her eyes and then opened them again, and began to look around the room. She was gasping for breath, and I saw that she was sweating. "Edward…" she moaned again. "Edward…help…"

When I saw Edward again, I swear I was going to kill him. How could he just leave Bella like this?! Didn't he realize how much she needed him!?

"He'll be back soon, Bella…" I soothed.

"That's what…you said…three…hours…ago…" she panted. Why did Bella have to be so smart?

"I know, Bella. Don't worry. He'll be here." I whispered. "He better be here…" I muttered under my breath. I heard the door behind me open, and turned around, hoping it was Edward. It was Jasper.

"Hey…" he said. "How's she holding up?"

"Edward?" Bella asked. I could hear the pain in her voice.

"No, it's Jasper, Bella. Sorry," he said.

"Edward…" Bella sobbed. She started writhing in pain again, and I saw tears coming to her eyes. She searched around the room, and eventually found my eyes. "Why…isn't…he…here…?" she asked me.

"I don't know, Bella. I'm sorry."

"Yes…you…do…! Doesn't…he…love…me…anymore…?" she asked.

"Of course he does, Bella. Don't ever think anything like that." When I find Edward...he's going to be dead meat.

"I'm going to kill him!" I whispered to Jasper. He nodded, understanding what and who I was talking about.

"Edward…" Bella whimpered again.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I have to leave. She's in so much pain…I can't handle it…" Jasper said. I could tell he was ashamed.

"It's alright, Jasper," I said. I gave him a quick peck on the lips, and he ran out of the room.

**Bella's POV**

I saw Jasper leave the room. I made him leave. He could feel so much of my pain, that it was hurting him. He couldn't be in the same room as me.

"Edward!" I cried out. I reached out into the air, hoping that I would find his hand. I knew I wouldn't, but it was worth a try. I instead found Alice's, and decided it would have to do. I was in so much pain. I squeezed her hand very hard, knowing it wasn't hurting her.

The venom was pulsing through my blood stream. It felt like every inch of my body was covered with burning hot fire, and completely frozen ice at the same time.

It was agony. I didn't know how much more of this I could handle. Maybe if Edward would've been by my side, it would've been different.

Edward. Why wasn't he here? He promised. He promised.

Another round of pain flashed through my veins. First the fire, and then the ice. But the worst pain was where Victoria had bitten me. My neck. It felt like a knife was still stuck into it, and was being twisted and moved around in my neck

Another flash of pain.

Another.

Another.

The pain increased. Not only was it coming more frequently now, but it was even worse. Now I could feel the fire, the ice, and what felt like needles passing through my veins. First I would feel the fire. Then the ice. Then needles would be pushed into my arms, legs, and the rest of my body; and then needles would fly through my veins, under my skin, and even through my bones.

It was worse than I could have ever imagined.

"Edward!" I cried out. Why wasn't he here? I need him. He would make it all better. "Edward! The fire!" I cried out. Alice put her ice cold hands on my neck. "Ice! Ice cold!" I yelled. Alice took her hand off. "Needles! Needles being pushed into my skin. Shooting through my veins! Through my bones! Make it stop!" I began to cry. "Edward!"

And I didn't think it could get any worse. I knew it couldn't get any worse than this.

But it did.

The pains did not come in flashes anymore—they were just one big, long, ever lasting pain. And not in stages of fire, ice, needles, but all at once. All at the same time, all the time.

I just wanted it to end. I wanted it to stop. I couldn't handle this anymore. "Make it end!" I screamed to whoever could hear me. "Kill me! Just make it stop! Make the pain stop!"

But it didn't stop. Not even close to stopping. It became even worse. Not only were there fires, ice, and needles, but now it felt like I had a stomach ache, but all over my body. It was like someone had cut a hole in me, and was reaching their hand into the hole and pulling out whatever they could find. Someone was grabbing my stomach, someone was grabbing my liver, and someone was grabbing my intestines. And not only were they trying to take them out, but they were setting them on fire, super-cooling them, and then stabbing them with knives.

"Edward!" I screamed. "Make it end!" I screamed out in agony. Anything that could make it stop, I would take it. Anything to end the pain. "Kill me!" I yelled. Death would be better than this. Anything would be better than this pain. Even if I died and go to hell, it would be better than this. This was hell. Hell on earth. Worse than hell. It was like I was a part of the devil himself.

"Edward!" I yelled. It must have been hours since the pain first started and I grabbed Alice's hand. I reached out for it again, but did not find it. I reached for the nearest thing I could find. I didn't know what it was, but I held on to it with all my might. I felt someone loosen my grip, and I wrapped my hand around theirs. I squeezed their hand, and screamed.

The pain had gotten worse.

I don't know how long I laid there, writhing in this agony. It seemed like months, years, decades, even. I struggled, and whipped my hands around me. I opened my eyes, looked around the room, and saw that it was dark. I saw a figure sitting in the chair in the corner of the room.

"Help," I moaned. "Make it end. Make the pain stop." The person did not react to my words. I continued to moan. "Do something. Edward. Kill me." They continued to ignore me. Eventually I gave up. I continued to thrash around in pain.

Another decade passed. The pain only got worse. I couldn't handle it.

The next time I really looked around the room, it was light again. The pain was even worse than before. The knife in my neck was bigger. My entire body felt frozen, and occasionally there would be a huge flare of fire. The needles continued to travel through my body. And the person continued to rip out my organs. But now, the ice was colder. The fire was more extreme. There were more needles. There were two people ripping out my organs. And now, it felt like someone was squeezing my insides together. Or wringing them out, like you would with a wet shirt or towel.

Another decade. It was dark. I yelled out to the shape sitting in the chair in the corner that only seemed to appear at night.

"Help me! Make it stop! Kill me!" Whoever it was still ignored me. "Edward!" I yelled. "Edward! I need you!! Edward!"

He never came.

Another decade. It was light. Now it felt like my entire body was on fire, and occasionally there would be a flash of ice. There were still needles, and someone still ripping and wringing out my organs.

But the fire was even hotter. The ice was even colder. There must have been hundreds of billions of needles throughout my body, piercing through my skin. And there was another person there.

And the new person was doing the worst. He was making a hole in my body, starting where I had been bitten in the neck. And using only his hands, he continued to make a hole. And when the hole in my neck was deep enough, he stuck his hand into it, and began to make the hole even larger. It was like he was digging a tunnel from my neck to my heart, going through my body.

Another decade. It was dark.

The person had made more progress with the hole. He brought more men with him. And they were all digging holes in different directions.

I yelled out to the person in the chair. "Make him go away!" I yelled. "Can't you see? They're hurting me! Make them go away! Make it stop! Just kill me!"

I did not yell Edward's name anymore. But I thought about him. I thought about him constantly.

How could he leave me here? Leave me alone, when I needed him the most. I was dying. I was completely convinced of that. I was dying, and he would not be here. I would die alone, with only me, the person sitting in the corner, and the men digging a hole through my body.

The hole continued to grow. The pain was incredible. Wherever the hole went, fire, ice, and needles went. And the men were digging the hole by hand. And the way they would dig was by wringing out and ripping the part of my insides that was in the way.

I could see a bit of light on the horizon. But the tunnel to my heart was not finished. It was done in every other direction, and I could no longer feel pain there. I just felt empty, hollow. But the tunnel was not to my heart yet.

My arms felt no more pain. My legs did not ache anymore. But I was still experiencing the greatest pain of all. The hole to my heart was the largest, widest, and the hole fullest of fire, ice, and needles. The fire wasn't a small fire like it had been for the past decades. It was like the sun compared to those. And the ice wasn't simply an ice cube you would find in your freezer. It was an entire iceberg. And the needles were not small, sewing needles, but large spears, being driven into the hole.

I didn't think it could be any worse than it was now. How wrong I was.

Even with all the other pains gone, this was still the worst pain I had experienced yet.

"KILL ME!" I yelled. "MAKE IT END! ANYTHING! JUST MAKE THE PAIN GO AWAY! KILL ME!"

The person in the chair in the corner did not hear me. He/she continued to stare at me.

I couldn't take it. I knew that I wouldn't make it. I would die right before the transformation was complete. And it would all be for nothing. All the pain and agony I went through would be for nothing.

The hole was almost finished. I could tell. And the way I could tell was because the pain was exponentially worse than before. The men were getting closer and closer to my heart.

And then I knew the tunnel was finished. All that was left to do was to kill my heart.

The men threw fire onto it. It was hotter than I could have ever imagined. It was one hundred times hotter than the sun. And after they burned my heart, they began to stab it. They took the biggest, sharpest objects they could find, and they stabbed my heart with it. I could feel blood pouring out of my heart. And I didn't know where they could have possibly found objects so sharp. And it was so many times worse than the needles from before. And after they finished stabbing my heart, they threw water onto it. And then froze the water. And it was so cold, that I thought I may die of hypothermia. The other ice was nothing compared to this. And so my heart was frozen.

And my heart was dead.

Or was it me that was dead? Had I gotten my wish, and was I finally rid of this terrible pain?

Whatever the case, I didn't care.

Because it was over.

And the pain was gone.

* * *

**Oooo. Is she a vampire, or did she die?! Would I have the nerve to kill off Bella?!??!?! (Because you know, it's possible that you can not live through the transformation and you can die!) Hehe. What happened? Is she a vampire, or dead?!**

**Find out in the NEXT CHAPTER!**

**Oh and one more thing—when she's all "**He was making a hole in my body, starting where I had been bitten in the neck.**" And all "**He brought more men with him. And they were all digging the hole in different directions.**" Theres not actually people in the room digging a hole in her body. That's just what it feels like to her. That's the only way I could think to describe the pain. For all the stuff—there is actually no one there like ripping out her organs or anything. That's just how the pain feels. Anyway...**

**Review!**

**-danielle-**


	36. a new beginning

**disclaimer: even after 36 chapters, i STILL don't own it :-(**

**Chapter 36**

I awoke feeling like a whole new person. When I opened my eyes, everything looked different. It was like someone had adjusted the brightness control on a TV. Everything was clearer, and I could see for miles. I listened. I could hear everything better. I could hear the whisper of the leaves blowing on the trees. I could hear a bug crawling on the bed next to me. And I could hear the Cullens talking.

As I sat up, I felt something odd on my hands. I looked down and saw a cast on my wrist, and bandages on each of my fingers. Carlisle must've somehow put them on me during my transformation. I couldn't help but smile—they really cared about me.

Remembering something from my transformation, I looked over to the corner where the person had been sitting. I wanted to see who had been sitting with me the whole time. But I noticed that the so-called "person" was actually just some clothes draped over a chair. I walked over to the clothes, but stopped halfway there. I felt so different. It was like I was floating, not walking. I grinned and continued to walk towards the chair.

There was a note on the chair. It was from Alice, telling me that these were some new clothes she had bought for me. I put them on, and then walked over to Alice's closet. I opened it and looked in her full length mirror. When I saw my reflection, I gasped.

The girl staring back at me was gorgeous. Her brown hair was naturally curly, and fell just below her shoulders. She had full lips but, like the rest of her skin, they were very white. I reached out to touch the mirror, and noticed that the girl did the same. With a gasp, it fully registered with me that the girl staring back at me was _me._ I looked down at my hand as it met the glass of the mirror. Something looked different. With another gasp, I realized that my scars—my horrible, ugly scars—were almost invisible. If you looked closely you could still see them, but they weren't as prominent as they had been before. I almost shrieked with glee.

I looked back up at the mirror, and gasped when I saw my eyes. I had become so accustomed to the topaz color of the Cullens' eyes, that it came as a shock when I saw the deep red color mine were. I knew, of course, that my eyes would be red, but it still surprised me none the less.

I tore my eyes away from the face of the beautiful woman in the mirror, and looked at the rest of my reflection. I gasped, again, when I saw my body. I had _curves._ I turned in a circle, and was in awe by what I saw. The shirt Alice bought me made perfect accented my new cleavage. The jeans she bought made my butt look, for lack of a better word, cute. I couldn't suppress a laugh. My laugh sounded so different—it was a tinkling, musical laugh, just like Alice's.

I heard the Cullens talking again, so I closed the closed door and made my way out of Alice and Jasper's room.

I got outside the room, and looked down the hallway. I couldn't see anybody anywhere. I headed for the stairs, but before I could reach them, I was thrown back onto the ground.

"BELLA!!!" the person who had knocked me down yelled. I realized it was Alice. "OH MY GOSH BELLA YOU'RE ALIVE AND YOU'RE AWAKE AND YOU'RE NOT IN PAIN ANYMORE! OH MY GOSH, YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL!"

"Alice! Please let me—" I stopped talking. My voice sounded different. It sounded...velvety. Almost seductive. "…get up…" I finished, marveling at my new voice. Alice got off me, but as I stood up, she hugged me. I knew that if I would've been human, this hug would've crushed me. But now that I was a vampire...

Oh my gosh. I'm a vampire.

"I'M A VAMPIRE!!!" I yelled excitedly into the air. Alice hugged me again and we both jumped up and down, excited.

A moment later, the rest of the Cullen family joined us upstairs. Well, not all of them.

I realized that Edward was still not here. I looked around for him, and then, not finding him, I ran past the Cullens and down the stairs. I had to find him. I ran out of the house, but stopped when I reached outside. I realized that I had run from Alice's room to outside in only one second.

I racked my brain for where Edward would be. The meadow was my first guess. I took off running in what I thought was the direction of the meadow. I realized that I was going completely in the wrong direction. I changed my course and ran the other way.

Eventually, I did find the meadow. But Edward was not there.

I sat back down on the ground, dejectedly. I laid down in the grass, and looked up at the sky. It was a gloomy day, and a dark, gray cloud covered the sky. Exactly my feelings right now.

Why wasn't he here? He told me he would stay by my side. That he would be there for me forever. But he was gone. I thought that he would at least be there when I woke up. I thought that seeing me in pain was just hard for him, so he couldn't watch me during my transformation. But not seeing him when I woke up—that hurt. Doesn't he know how much I need him?

I don't know how long I laid there. After a while, I heard footsteps approaching me. I didn't turn around.

"Bella...?" a male voiced asked. He sounded very surprised, and even a little bit sad and angry.

I turned around, and my face lit up with joy.

"Edward!" I yelled. I didn't care if he hadn't been there for me. He was here now. He was back. I ran over to him and hugged him. He hugged me back, but it wasn't right. I broke away from him, and saw that he looked sad too.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. He looked at me, and sighed.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Edward…" I said, knowing that he wasn't being truthful. He looked at the ground.

"How could I do this to you?" he asked. I walked over to him and put my hand on his cheek. As I did, he gasped.

"What?" I asked him. He reached up, and put his hand on mine. His eyes showed some emotion that I couldn't completely make out. "Edward…?" I asked. His eyes met mine. Then he reached up and put his hands on the side of my face. He seemed to get even sadder after doing this. "What is it?" I asked again.

"You're cold…" he whispered. "I made you…cold…"

"Edward…" I whispered. He took his hands off the side of my face. He turned away from me, and walked towards the other end of the meadow. I chased after him, and was by his side in less than a second.

"Edward…I want this…" I whispered. He turned around, startled to see me next to him.

"Bella…how could I do this to you? How could I let you turn into this...this monster! You could have had a happy life. A normal life. But I took that chance away from you. I should've just—" he stopped quickly, and looked away from me.

I realized what he was going to say. "You should've just...let me die...?" He didn't look up at me.

Those words hurt even more than the fact that he hadn't been there for me. He would have rather let me die than have me by his side right now.

He didn't want me. It was just like when he left. He now realized that we were going to be together forever—that I was going to be with him forever. Always around. An eternal nuisance. He realized that there would be no way to get rid of me.

I turned away from him and began to walk away.

"Bella...I'm sorry..." he whispered. I turned around to face him.

"Are you?" I asked. "Are you really? Or do you think it would be better if I was just out of your life. If I was gone—not your problem anymore. If I was just...dead. Dead and gone."

"Bella...I never said that..." he said. "I just...I can't believe I did this to you."

"You didn't do anything to me," I said, angrily. "Victoria did this. And it's what I wanted. Don't you see that?"

"How could you want to be a monster?" he asked. "How could you possibly want to be something to terrible?"

"Because I want to be with you, Edward," I said. "I want to be with you forever. For the rest of my life. And I thought you wanted me forever, too. But now I can see that you think that this whole thing is just a mistake."

I turned away from him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back around.

"Bella..." he whispered. He reached up and put his hands on the side of my face. But he pulled away right as we touched. "How could I do this to you..." he muttered under his breath. But I heard.

"You can't get away with that muttering to yourself anymore, Edward," I said. "I can hear every word your saying."

Our eyes met. "I know," he whispered. "That's the problem..."

"The problem!?" I almost yelled. "Problem!? So you think that me being one of you is just a big problem now!? You think that the fact that we get to be together for all of eternity is a problem!? Well, excuse me for thinking that maybe, just maybe, that you loved me. Sorry for thinking that it would be a good thing for us to be together forever."

"Bella...I just..."

"I don't want to hear it!" I yelled. "I thought this would be a good thing," I said as our eyes met again. "But I realize now that it was just a mistake."

I turned away from him and bolted across the meadow.

"Where are you going!?" he yelled after me. I stopped, and turned back to look at him.

"Somewhere where I know the people will actually appreciate my presence," I said.

"Bella..."

"I'll be at your house if you need me," I said. I didn't have to yell. I knew he would hear.

And with that, I took off to meet the rest of my family.

**-**

As I walked into the Cullen's house, I was bombarded by Alice again. She hugged me again, and I tried to laugh. But it was an empty laugh. It had no life in it. Alice noticed.

"You saw Edward," she said. I nodded. She hugged me again. "That bastard..." she muttered under her breath. We broke apart and she said to me, "I had a vision of what happened between you two at the meadow. I'm so sorry, Bella. Come on, we'll deal with him later. Right now, you have to go talk to Carlisle." She led me upstairs, and in to Carlisle's study.

He politely smiled as I entered the room. "Hello, Bella," he said. "So, you're feeling alright now?" he asked. I nodded, but I did not smile. Carlisle noticed my sadness. "That's good…" he said gently. "Have you noticed anything different?" I nodded.

"Just the normal things that are different between vampires and humans," I said. My velvety, seductive voice had no life in it.

"So, everything looks clearer, you can see hear better, you can run faster..." he trailed off. I nodded.

A moment later, Jasper entered the room.

"Dad, I—" he stopped suddenly, and looked around the room. He saw me, and sighed. "Bella..." he said. I realized that he must feel how much pain I'm in right now. He walked over to me, and for the first time ever, he gave me a hug. "I'm sorry you're in so much pain," he whispered into my ear.

"Thanks," I whispered back. We pulled apart, and he laughed.

"It's good to actually be able to be around you," he said, grinning. I nodded, managing a half smile.

"I'll talk to you later, Dad," he said to Carlisle. He nodded at Alice, Carlisle, and I, and walked out of the office.

"So, Bella..." Carlisle said, but he was interrupted.

"Where's Bella?" someone downstairs asked.

"I'm in Carlisle's office," I said. I knew the person would hear me, I didn't have to yell. Carlisle looked at me, confused.

"Bella, why did you just say that?" he asked.

"Someone was wondering where I was," I said. Carlisle continued to look confused. "Didn't you hear them? They said, 'Where's Bella?'" He was looking at me like I was crazy. "Didn't…you…hear it…?" I asked. He shook his head, and I saw Alice looking at me like I was crazy. A moment later, Edward burst into Carlisle's office. He turned around to face me, and walked towards me.

"Bella…I'm so sorry," he said. He grabbed my hand and said, "I didn't mean to hurt you. She's so cold, and her skin is so white. And her eyes are bright red. She looks so different...but so beautiful..."

I looked at the ground. "Compliments aren't going to make up for what you said..." I whispered. I looked up at him, and he looked confused.

"What?" he asked. Carlisle looked at me, confused as well.

"You just said…but…wait…huh…?" I said I looked at Carlisle, and then back at Edward. "You just said that I looked different, but still beautiful. And then I said something in reply to that…"

"He didn't say that, Bella," Carlisle said. I whipped my head around to look at him.

"Yes he did," I insisted. "I heard it!"

"Bella, I don't think he said that..." Alice said in agreement. I looked around at all of them, and they were all looking at me like I was crazy.

"No," Edward said, a look of comprehension coming on his face. "I thought it!" I turned to look at Carlisle.

"I can hear thoughts?!" I asked, excited, all my anger with Edward temporarily forgotten. Carlisle didn't answer me. "Carlisle…?" I asked a few moments later.

"No…I don't think you can hear thoughts," he said. "I was just thinking something to you, but you obviously didn't hear it."

I was confused. "Then…what…?"

"I think you can hear Edward's thoughts…" he said. I looked at Edward.

"Why only my thoughts?" he asked.

"Well, you take your human qualities into your life as a vampire. One of Bella's main human 'qualities' was her love for you, Edward," he said. I looked down at the ground, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward do the same. My love for him. If only I could know that he still had the same feelings for me.

"So, now you are both connected in a way. But, I think we should test it first." I tried to push my anger and sadness out of my head for a while. I couldn't let my feeling distract me right now. Carlisle walked over to Edward, and whispered something in his ear. Edward nodded, and then looked at me.

I didn't hear anything.

"Um…what's supposed to be happening here?" I asked. Carlisle looked like he understood something.

"Bella, I think your power is that you and Edward can have conversations in your mind," he said, in awe. "You can hear when Edward is thinking something about you. Like, when he was looking for you, you could hear it. I think it has to be something about you, not just anything. Like, just now, I told Edward to think about anything besides you. And you didn't hear it. Does that make any sense?"

I nodded.

"Wow…" Alice said. Carlisle nodded in agreement.

"Let's just try one more thing…" he said. He whispered something else into Edward's ear. He nodded, and then turned to look at me again.

"Bella...I'm so sorry...I shouldn't have left you alone during your transformation. It's just...I couldn't bear to see you in so much pain..." he said. Except his lips weren't moving.

"Oh…Edward…" I said. "I—"

"Wait," Carlisle said. He walked over to me, and whispered something into my ear.

"Bella," he said, "I want you to think this. And don't just think it, but think it to Edward. Pretend you are talking to him, but don't say the words. Think the words." I nodded.

_I know it was hard for you, Edward. I just…I just wish you could've gotten past that. I needed you. But you weren't there. _

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said. His lips didn't move again—he thought it.

_I…I know it was hard. But, you can't just turn away every time I am in pain. I need you to be there, like I would be there for you. _

_I'm sorry. I was horrible. And I didn't make it any better in the meadow. You're just so...different. You're not the same human Bella I came to love._

_So, are you saying you can't love me anymore, just because I'm not the same clumsy, human Bella? Now that we can finally be together forever? _I realized how sappy this conversation sounded—like something straight from a cheesy chick flick.

_Bella...I will never stop loving you. When I was growing up, love was more than just two people who enjoy each other's company. It was something everlasting. I love you, Bella. There may be times when it seems like I'm not there—but I always will be. I'll always love you._

_I love you too, Edward. So, so, much._

I walked over to him, and hugged him. And this hug felt right.

The four of us left Carlisle's office, and met the rest of the family downstairs. They all looked overjoyed to see Edward and me together.

We explained to them about my power. Everybody looked just as awestruck as we had.

And then I decided I had to face something that I didn't want to face. As long as I had Edward by my side, I was pretty sure I would face it. "Um…Charlie…" was all I said. Everyone became quiet, and looked sad.

Esme eventually spoke up. "You're dead, Bella," she whispered gently. "You and Edward both. Your bodies were found on the side of the road together, along with your truck. We made it seem like you got in a car accident. Charlie is…" she couldn't finish. I realized how hard this must be for her, having lost a child of her own. She knew how much pain Charlie must be in right now.

Carlisle walked over to comfort Esme. I turned away from everyone.

I would never see Charlie again. Charlie or Renee. Charlie, Renee, or Jake. They all thought I was dead.

And, technically, I was.

**Alice's POV**

I knew that, if she could've, Bella would have been crying right now. Just like we all had been before.

Carlisle had talked to all of us about the crying. He said that, since the only bodily fluid we had in our system is venom, that we had cried venom tears. It was something that he had never heard of before. He had multiple theories. One was that the reason he had cried was because of Jasper. He had such control over our emotions, and he must have put so much of his sadness into us that it was what Carlisle called "emotion overload." And that caused us to cry.

Another one of his theories was that Bella dying was just such an emotional thing for all of us. That maybe if vampires had an extreme burst of one emotion, it could bring out the human characteristics in us. Like, if we had _extreme_ embarrassment, then maybe we would actually blush.

Personally, I thought it was just a miracle.

I looked back over at Bella. She was in so much pain. She lost her mother and father today.

"Charlie…Renee…" she whispered. She began to fall onto the ground, but Edward caught her. He walked over to the couch and sat down, and pulled Bella into his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder, and Edward wrapped his arms around her. Just like Carlisle had done to Esme three days ago.

Bella's old life was over. But her new life—a life with us, as a vampire—was just beginning.

* * *

**So this is the last REAL chapter. The next one is the epilogue. Ya. **

**Hehe.**

**Please review!!!**

**-danielle-**


	37. Epilogue

**Ok—so pretty much EVERY single review I got said "are you gonna make a sequel?" well, so far, the answer is NO, I am not. If you want to know why, just read what I wrote at the bottom of the thing. If you guys REALLY want a sequel, then I might re-consider. But I mean, really, how much farther can I go with this? It would just be dumb. No Jake, no Victoria, no Charlie, no Renee, no Mike or Jess or Angela or any of the cool people! It would just be dumb. Read the bottom for other reasons I don't wanna do a sequel. **

* * *

**Chapter 37**

**Epilogue**

**Alice's POV**

_Bella's old life was over. But her new life—a life with us, as a vampire—was just beginning. _

A few hours later, after Bella had calmed down a bit more, I ran upstairs. I grabbed my digital camera from my closet, and scrolled through it. I found the picture that I wanted, and ran to print it off. Then, I ran back into the family room, and saw Edward, Bella, and Carlisle all talking. I think Carlisle was telling Bella about us crying.

I ran in quickly, and took a picture of Bella.

"Alice! Ow! That flash hurt my eyes!" she yelled at me.

"Sorry! I said as I ran out of the room. I printed off the picture I had just taken. I took a bright red sharpie, and wrote something on the back of them. Then I grabbed two pieces of tape.

I walked back into the family room, followed by Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme. I walked over to the wall that the TV was on, and could feel everyone looking at me. I picked up the first picture. It was a picture of Edward, Bella, and Renee. I took it on the night when Edward proposed to Bella, right before they left to go to the restaurant. As I taped it to the wall, I read what I had written on the back of it.

"Before."

Then I grabbed the other picture—the one I had just taken—and taped it to the wall next to the earlier picture. I turned around to face everybody and, with a grin, read what was written on the back of that picture.

"After."

* * *

**Oh gosh! It's the end of the story! Are you heartbroken? I think I'm going to cry! It's so sad!!**

**Ok—about the sequel thing.**

**At first, I was planning on writing a sequel. But I was thinking about it, and I am REALLY tired of this story. I guess I don't like it that much. Well some of it is good, but I think the only REALLY good chapters are like chapters 10 12 and 13, and then 25-29 are ok, and then 30 to the end are actually good. That's just my opinion tho. I actually REALLY (like you don't even know how much I hate them) hate the first 9 chapters except for the mac 'n' cheese one ;-)**

**Anyway, back to the sequel thing, I don't think I'm going to write a sequel. But I'm starting a new story called **_**Blue Moon. **_**Idk where it's gonna go really but it has a good first chapter and so idk. Ya. I'll tell you more about **_**Blue Moon**_** later. **

**I guess maybe if EVERYONE is all "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WRITE A SEQUEL! I WILL ABSOLUTELY DIE IF YOU DON'T BECAUSE I LOVE THIS STORY AND IT'S THE ONLY REASON I LIVE THROUGH THE DAYS AND THE ONLY WAY I AM ABLE TO WAKE UP IN THE MORNING!" then I might consider it. Maybe. Idk. I'm not really a sequel person so...**

**Anyway...ya. **

**Yay! (I just HAD to say that one last time)**

**Please please PLEASE review. I would love feedback and I want to know how the story turned out. **

**Till next time…if there is a next time…**

**.:...::Danielle::...:.**

**PS—please PM me if you want to talk to me about the sequel thing—don't put it in a review. **


	38. anouncing Felicità

**Alrigh****t everyone—the first chapter of the sequel to **_**Before and After**_** is up! It is called **_**Felicità. **_**I can't wait for everyone to read it!**

**And I want to throw in a big thank you to mytypeofheroin and cullen num.1fan for editing this story for me! They were both such a big help! Thanks, guys!!**

**So, go, now! Go read **_**Felicità! **_**I hope you won't be disappointed!!**

**-Danielle**


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